Radiance
by Abel Sephaos
Summary: Jaune Arc had heard, in passing, that there seemed to be a correlation between strength and sanity amongst the Huntsman and Huntresses of Remnant. When he arrived at Beacon to hopefully become a man his dead father could be proud of, this fact had slipped his mind. Should he have remembered it, perhaps he could have saved himself from the strange fate that awaited him there.
1. Should Have Just Stayed Home

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 1, Should Have Just Stayed Home_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

Hmm, they say the third time is the charm, correct? I was _not_ happy with how the story was progressing, simply because of how out of character Blake was from the get go. I hope to rectify this and turn it into more of a slow boil type of story rather than bold, in your face Yandere from the rip.

As you may have seen, most, if not all of my other stories have been discontinued, with maybe two having the potential for updates in the future.

 **[RD]**

 _'Breath in.'_

High above the clouds, a white cloaked young man hunched in on himself as he concentrated on his breathing, doing his best to ignore the chatter around him. The mindless noise floated in one ear and out the other as he continued to fight an internal struggle that all of his ancestors before him waged war with as well. His stomach lurched once more as the minor turbulence of the large airship he was aboard rose in altitude before lowering once more, something it seemed to do quite frequently.

 _'Breath out.'_

The short haired youth groaned lowly before reaching into the leather pouch sewn into the inside of his cloak to retrieve another mint leaf before lowering the thick, white scarf covering most of his lower face and placing it on his tongue and closing the pouch. The bitter, yet pleasant taste of Yerba Buena soothed the feeling of nausea enough for the blond to lean back in his seat and glance blearily around at those surrounding him before deciding it was futile.

 _'Breath in.'_

Try as he might, the faces of those around him were so bland and forgettable they may as well have been black outlines in the backdrop. Perhaps it was only due to his discomfort, as he did catch quite a few flashes of bright colors every now and again as his azure eyes scanned the crowd, but his focus was quickly drawn back to his breathing when the flavor of mint was no longer enough to stave off his nausea.

 _'Breath out.'_

Despite his excitement at finally having made it to the Kingdom that held the key to his dreams, Jaune couldn't help but scoff at the strange defensive nature of Beacon Academy. Why did each and every trip to the prodigious Academy have to be made by airship? Why couldn't Beacon be more like Haven in the fact it was located within the Kingdom proper and not the outskirts of Vale, high upon a set of cliffs? Perhaps as a way to prevent an all out siege from Grimm along the ground level?

 _'Breath in.'_

Jaune found his thoughts wandering away from the defensive positioning of Beacon as he further gained control over his bodily functions enough to no longer be in danger of losing his lunch, as bland and tasteless as it had been with his rather meager funding. Glancing down at the pristine white armor resting upon his chest and the golden Arc family symbol engraved in the center of the piece of metal plating, the white clad knight of Arc descent couldn't fight the frown that appeared on his face before it disappeared just as quickly.

 _'Breath out.'_

His left hand settled upon the sheathed blade resting on his waist, the cool, threaded pommel of the blade suffusing through his thin leather gloves and reminding him of the promise he made at his fathers grave on his twelfth birthday. The feeling of Crocea Mors at his side further calmed his nerves and allowed Jaune to sit a bit straighter than before, the white hood of his cloak rising enough to allow his azure blue eyes to stare out at the crowds around him once more.

 _'Breath in.'_

Jaune couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, he just couldn't tell quite where the feeling was originating from. In some moments, it felt like it was coming from right next to him while in others, the feeling was a distant tugging that only nudged at his awareness like a passing breeze. If there was one thing the Arc scion had learned during the trek from Amarila, his home village, to Vale, it was to know the feeling of being watched.

It was the Human and Faunus gazes that fell upon his cloaked form that gave him most pause, especially knowing there were some that allowed their eyes to linger perhaps a tad too long while one refused to budge all together. Grimm had been one of the many constants that Jaune had learned to deal with throughout his life, his sisters often bringing a leashed Beowulf home after removing their arms and toes before allowing him to practice his technique, all at the behest of his Mother.

All thoughts of concentrating on his breathing ceased as a brief flash of his mothers face raced through his minds eye before disappearing just as quickly, leaving nothing but a terrible longing for home in its wake. Despite wanting nothing more than to go to Beacon and become a man his deceased father could be proud of, Jaune couldn't help but feel incredible sadness at having to leave behind his six sisters and mother for four years to do so.

He had tossed around the idea of requesting they move to Vale with him, though the idea was quickly scrapped just as it formed. His Father's family, the Arc's, had long since been residences of the small village and had engrained themselves into the defensive forces of watchmen and guards alike. His two eldest sisters, Johanna and Juliana had become integral to the survival of Amarila, and no matter how selfish Jaune was, he wouldn't take away the livelihoods of his fellow Amarilans due to his desire to keep his family with him.

Clenching his fist tightly around the pommel of Crocea Mors as the airship lurched to the left harshly before correcting course, Jaune kept his lunch down successfully once again as he swallowed the mint leaf before reaching for another.

"Excu-" Whatever words were about to be said afterwards were muted when a minor bout of turbulence caused the bullhead to lurch, causing the person standing next to him to lurch into his side heavily, almost collapsing entirely upon his form. He was content to ignore the person and their lingering gazes, but having them sprawl out over his shoulder was perhaps not quite socially acceptable, even for him.

With what sounded like a hiss, the black and white clad form next to him was quick to remove itself from his body while murmuring an apology under their breath. Any thoughts of continuing whatever they were saying after having their words were cut off by the shaking of the motor vehicle seemed to disappear as azure found itself locked with amber.

"It's fine." Jaune did his best to dispel the fears of his neighbor, so to speak, when he finally broke his gaze away from them and returned to his forward facing position completely. Normally such a thing would have been a cause for concern considering just how closely they were sitting to him previously, but his heavily distracted state preventing him from registering their proximity.

Finding the need to vacate the premise all together after his stomach lurched powerfully once more, he rose from his seated position and allowed his white cloak to cover his body once more before making his way to where he knew the bathroom was located.

He didn't want to admit it, but the intense eyes of the dark haired female struck a chord within him. Something about her gaze made his hairs stand on end, but he couldn't quite figure out what. Jaune eventually chalked it up to his nerves and pushed it from the forefront of his mind, instead focusing on the path before him.

The clamor of activity and teenagers exchanging braggadocios tales preceded Jaune for quite some time as he stalked the passageways of the overly large aerial vehicle, paying no mind to any of the passersby as he did his best to keep his stomach from emptying itself prematurely.

Feeling the airship lurch once more, this time in a downward direction, Jaune steadied himself and moved further out of sight as he found himself near the docking bay, just another hallway away from the mens restroom. The sound of Glynda Goodwitch speaking broke the silence that had befallen the bullhead after the previous bout of turbulence, allowing Jaune to listen to the stern woman and her greetings in peace.

The sound of a young girl complaining about her knees, _of all things you could possibly complain about_ , caused him to turn his attention to the two newcomers that strolled towards the docking bay with a keen eye, though he wasn't quite expecting both to turn to him at once as if they had seen a ghost.

The taller of the two had golden hair that cascaded around her shoulders and down to the small of her back, obviously well cared for and groomed daily. From her stance and the way she continued to tinker with her bracelets almost absentmindedly, Jaune was able to glean enough information to know she was a brawler. Her eyes and smile appeared wild and almost untamed, _feral_ with a hint of civility.

The shorter teenager had shoulder length black hair with what looked to be red tips, dressed in gothic-lolita with a long, cascading red cloak around her shoulders much like his own, if not styled more like a cape with a hood than a true cloak. Nothing about the younger girl was telling, as far as her combat prowess went anyway.

Her young appearance gave Jaune slight pause, but his stomach quickly reminded him of his previous agenda and put him in motion towards the bathroom once more, all thoughts of the two quickly leaving his head.

The restroom was completely unoccupied, thankfully, allowing Jaune to empty the contents of his stomach in peace without disturbing those around him with either the smell of vomit, or the sound of said process of vomiting. Some people were audibly sensitive and started gagging upon _hearing_ others gag, after all, and it would have been just Jaune's luck to turn a clean restroom into a scene straight from a C-rated horror movie.

Rinsing his mouth out with the fresh tap water from the sink and biting into two more leaves of mint, the blond glanced over himself in the mirror and did his best not to scoff at what he saw. Standing just two inches over six foot, Jaune Arc would have been a rather imposing figure to behold if he didn't resemble a beanpole in the fact that he was rather streamlined as opposed to bulky like his Father, Julius Arc.

The fur lined white hood and cloak that covered his blond hair and clothing from view was one of the few constants in his life, his first cloak having been a gift to him by a woman he considered an Aunt years prior when he was still a child. From the moment he was given his first cloak, Jaune had quickly fallen in love with the accessory and almost refused to go a day without wearing the comforting piece of cloth. White and gold armor peaked out from beneath the cloak, as did the tall collar of the white turtleneck he wore beneath his cuirass.

Two black, leather belts crossed his blue jean covered hips and held two pouches each on either side of his hips, providing quite a bit of storage space outside of his pants pockets to use. One pouch was dedicated to keeping a large stock of mint leaves to help with his nausea while the rest held other little trinkets he had learned to use in a fight to tip the scales in his favor. Thick, black boots the same shade as his gloves covered his feet, armored around the toes and heel to prevent having his tendons sliced or toes crushed.

He may have been dressed like a semi-casual white knight, but Jaune Arc was known by his sisters and mother alike for being the most deceptive of all of the Arc siblings when it came to appearances. Gentle he may have been, but those who had gotten to know him knew that he had a vengeful streak nearly two miles wide, especially when it came to his siblings or goodness forbid, his mother.

Deciding that preening was senseless and that he needed to start making his way back to the docking bay, Jaune spun on his heels and began a slow walk back towards the middle of the airship with the rest of the students. The minutes ticked by quickly for Jaune as he went back to focusing on his breathing to keep his still aching stomach from acting up once more before finally, the Captains voice rang out and announced the airships arrival at Beacon.

When he finally made his way to the large bay he knew would act as the students exit, the doors were finally open to let loose the would be students upon Beacon. Feeling eyes upon him once more, Jaune made his way past the crowd and moved to his left, hanging on the edge of the steady stream of useless bodies.

'Finally.' The cloaked teen was listless as he moved forward, shaking off the effects of motion sickness with adept skill. Of course, it could have also been the large amount of concentrated mint he took for his condition, but that was neither here nor there. His mother had made sure to send him another large stash from his garden by hiding the leaves in his knife pouch. Brothers bless her pure soul, Joan was too good a woman for a terrible son like Jaune.

From the corner of his eyes, Jaune watched as the taller blond he had passed by earlier abandoned her younger companion to blend into the crowd of faceless figures, disappearing from sight completely. His gait slow, he was able to remain out of the way and out of view from many of the roving beings, keeping to himself as he made his way towards the auditorium at a pace more fitting a senior citizen with a cane than a young man not even in his prime.

Jaune couldn't help the small chortle that escaped him as he watched the melodramatic teenager throw herself backwards to the ground in either frustration or dizziness, causing her to knock over the rather expensive looking luggage that belonged to a prim and proper white haired young girl. The ensuing chaos was mind boggling, reminisce of something straight from the Arc household without an army of angry blonds chasing one another with weapons of potential mass destruction.

A sneeze that causes explosions? Perhaps it was the extremely volatile powdered dust that the white haired female was waving about carelessly in the face of the blackish red haired female. Either way, Jaune steered clear until he picked up a dreaded sound. A sound that haunted his dreams and nightmares alike.

The horrid _sniffle._

He had done his best to valiantly crush the white knight within him beneath his heel despite his appearances, but his body was already in motion despite his minds protests by the time he came to his senses once more. By the time the knight was re-slain with his ashes scattered in the winds, he was already standing over the young girl, taking in her appearance while scanning her for any visible injury and finding none in turn. Tilting his head to the side, Jaune noticed that her eyes were the most peculiar shade of grey he had ever seen. It was only after the light caught her eyes correctly that Jaune discovered that her eyes weren't grey, but _silver_.

She reminded him of one of his younger sisters, especially due to her manner of speech and dress, but beyond that, she reminded him of someone from his past that he hardly remembered, the very person who gave him his first cloak when he was little more than two years old. Jaune Arc couldn't help but compare the young, red and black clad female before him to the soft spoken aunt figure his eldest sisters and mother had told him stories of time and time again, a deceased woman by the name of Summer that had passed away a few days after Jaune's sixth birthday.

Scorning himself for once more bringing up the past, the blond stopped trying to compare the young girl before him to the many female figures responsible for shaping him as a person before offering her a hand up.

Had he known the chain of events his small offer of companionship would set off in the near future, Jaune would have turned on his heels and marched away from Beacon with as much gusto as he possibly could. It was all for naught, however, for the moment the young female sealed her palm into his, the fates had determined his future.

 **[TL]**

Ruby Rose wasn't quick to admit it, but she was a young girl with a healthy fear for the unknown.

Fear was one of her most powerful emotions, if she were to be completely honest. Fear of being alone, fear of being helpless, fear of letting down her family. It was that fear of being alone that drove her to create her weapon and affectionately name it Crescent Rose. Ruby wasn't quite like the girls around Patch and was more interested in combat, weapons and getting stronger than other, more civil hobbies. It was due to this nature of hers that made bonding with those around her almost an impossible task all together, her list of friends being two.

Crescent Rose was one, and Yang was another.

It was not due to any lack of effort on her part, of course, but her ability to connect with those her age had been so lacking she was almost sure it was teetering in the negative numbers on some days. The young Reaper had learned to hide her loneliness behind a mask of happiness and bubbly persona years prior when her elder sister started asking rather specific questions, but some days made the petite figure question the point in maintaining her facade.

Being invited to Beacon early for her part in foiling the attempted robbery of From Dust Till Dawn had caused no small amount of hope to spring up within the young Huntress in training, especially knowing that this would be her chance to meet new people that weren't aware of her strange obsession with weapons or cookies.

The judgmental gazes of those at Signal hadn't quite left her feeling eager to mingle with the student body around her, though, despite her massive desire to at least meet _one_ person to befriend and shower with her affection. It was due to this massive internal conflict that she felt that Ruby threw herself backwards in frustration, only to cause a chain reaction of legendary proportions when she knocked over the luggage of a silver haired passerby. After dealing with an irate princess who loved to shake volatile dust in peoples faces and the subsequent sneeze-plosion, she was content to wallow in her self pity.

Not only was she ditched by her sister for _her_ useless friends, something Ruby was silently incredibly bitter about, she was also accosted and exploded by the first person she had come into contact with! Despite her fathers and sisters assurances, Ruby had an inkling of regret for leaving behind Signal early.

She left the comfortable, _known_ , and admittedly lonely Signal for this?

A figure leaning over her broke her from her dramatics, causing her to look up at the tall being that blotted out the sun and cast heavy shadows over her entire frame.

His entire body was cloaked in white, from the large hood that covered his hair all the way down to his toes. There were minor frays along the edge of the cloak, indicating that it had seen service for quite some time. Her heart beat a bit quicker upon seeing the white cloaked figure once more, having been caught staring earlier when he had passed her by in the halls of the airship.

The cloaked figure tilted his head to the side in a show of curiosity, almost like a puppy, before Ruby shook away her initial shock and quickly latched onto the leather clad hand he had extended in her direction. The white cloak was parted slightly down the middle, revealing chest armor of the same color with golden accents that was held onto his torso by two straps over the shoulder. He wore a long sleeved turtleneck beneath his armor and had a long scarf wrapped around his throat and lower face, preventing Ruby from making out the details of his nose or mouth from her angle.

He was taller than most people Ruby had ever seen, standing at just above six foot by her judgment.

Her keen eyes locked onto the white sheath upon his left hip, two golden bars racing across the pristine surface near the middle before traveling up the weapon slowly. The royal blue wrapping around the blades handle was worn and held an imprint of the figures large hand near the middle, indicating actual skill in wielding the weapon as she made out the blue tint the palms of his right glove held.

Eventually, Ruby accepted the offered hand with gratitude, allowing the cloaked figure to pull her to her feet. Brushing herself off, Ruby fought down her blush of embarrassment and motioned to introduce herself to the only person to stop and pay her misery any mind, only to notice that he was already on his merry way, not even bothering to wait for her to speak before he continued moving.

While she was grateful that he helped her up, the least he could have done was allowed her to know his name, or at least even learn hers.

"Hey, wait up!" Ruby shouted before her body was engulfed in a splash of rose pedals, appearing beside the cloaked figure in a split second upon activating her semblance, "You didn't even let me introduce myself!"

His slightly obscured face tilted to the left again as he shifted his body slightly to observe her better before he slowly shrugged his shoulders.

When he didn't speak up, Ruby huffed and crossed her arms while tapping her left foot upon the ground in irritation. "Well?"

"Well what? I'm waiting for you to introduce yourself." The tall figure tilted a brow before turning a bit more than before to face her from the side.

The blush of embarrassment came and went in a second before the scythe wielder placed one of her hands on her waist confidently while extending her other. "I'm Ruby Rose, Grimm slaying extraordinaire! Nice to meet you, uh..."

With a sigh, Jaune reached out and took her hand in a gentle grip, not finding the need to give her the macho-man grip as was common in most men. "Jaune."

"Jaune." Ruby repeated his name as if testing the way it sounded. It rolled off the tongue easily, that much was for certain, and it held a ring to it as she repeated the name in her head a few more times to memorize it, "It's nice to meetchya', Jaune! Thanks for the help back there..."

When he shrugged his shoulders again, Ruby almost decided on giving up on speaking to him before decided to attempt one final conversation starter. "This is my baby, Crescent Rose!"

The way he took a step back made her realize her mistake in displaying perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm over her weapon, but he leaned forward to get a better look after a second of silence, his azure blue eyes roving across the weapon and drinking in its details.

"A sniper rifle as well?" Jaune asked simply, pointing at the large magazine near the head of the weapon, "What a fascinating weapon."

"Oh, are you a weapon lover too?!" Ruby was ecstatic upon hearing his answer, usually having to spell out what her weapon is to those first seeing the beautifully deadly contraption, "Oh, oh! What kind of weapon do you use? I mean, I see that you have a sword, but-"

Jaune seemed to lean back and tilted his head to the right this time as he allowed Ruby's hyperactive chatter enter one ear and exit the other, holding a silent conversation with himself before deciding that it couldn't hurt to show her, especially considering she might end up being partnered with him in the future.

Reaching down, Jaune quickly unsheathed Crocea Mors and deployed its sheath into its Heater form, revealing his weapon as nothing more than a rather old sword and board made of the highest quality metals.

Two quick flicks of his blade demonstrated quite a bit of strength, the three foot slab of sharpened metal cutting through the air and whistling a tune Ruby found she could listen to for hours before the heater shield was collapsed and returned to his hip before sheathing the short sword.

"This is Crocea Mors, a weapon passed down from male Arc to male Arc," Jaune placed his left on the hilt of the weapon once more, relishing the comfort the weapon brought him, "Easy to handle, no complicated moving parts, fun to smack people in the face with."

Ruby couldn't help the giggle that escaped her upon hearing his last comment. Her silver eyes roamed his form once more before snapping back to his eyes, her silver pools of liquid mercury burying themselves deep in his oceans of blue. His handshake told her all she needed to know about him. It was a skill her father passed unto her and Yang, one that most Huntsmen and Huntresses eventually learn at some point in their career.

The fact that he was so gentle with his handshake spoke of his inner character, but the callouses she could feel beneath his gloves hinted at his prowess with his blade. This was someone who had worked hard with his weapon.

Ruby didn't have a problem with Jaune being her first friend, not in the least.

 **[RD]**

Blake wasn't sure what she was expecting when first arriving in Beacon, but this was _not_ it. Deciding to cut ties with the White Fang had been hard, but it was necessary when the violence continued to escalate. Adam, her partner and former lover, had become a psychotic monster, cold and cruel to those beside and beneath him.

It was saddening, watching the organization created by her father and mother fall into such a state. It was enough to make her sick, just thinking about it. That was how she found herself miles in the sky, currently on her way to attending a four year vocational school that teaches impressionable teenagers how to kill monsters.

Perhaps there was more to her decision to joining Beacon, but she hardly desired to admit that she was looking for someone. Not anyone in particular, either, but... _someone._ Blake couldn't handle the sadness that came with being alone, not after having spent the better part of four years obsessively loyal to Adam Taurus.

That wasn't correct either, now that she was being honest with herself. She could handle the sadness easily, as her books provided her much needed escapism whenever she found necessary. It was the lonesomeness that she couldn't handle.

It was a sad truth, but one Blake had no problems admitting. Her mother, Kali, had much the same issues when she was younger, though the elder Belladonna was quick to teach her daughter everything she knew once Blake had reached maturity in controlling her urges, months before the young Faunus had left home and joined the Fang full time.

Another sad truth that Blake would admit is her... slightly obsessive personality. It was something that every Belladonna before her struggled with, and something her children would come to inherit as well. It was this obsessive nature that led to Kali seducing Ghira, as the two politely called it years after the fact. Blake was more than sure that seducing was putting it nicely, as Kali never took no for an option from the man.

Taking in a deep breath, Blake enjoyed the smell of the fresh air and the faint hint of flowers and iron. Her bow twitched once as the sound of deep, steady breathing reached her feline ears before her human appendages could pick up on the noise.

The smell of flowers and iron grew stronger as she neared the open door to her right, only looking in for a moment as she motioned to continue on her way. Something caused her to pause, _something_ made her eye the white blob a bit closer as he rested his back upon the wall of the small alcove.

After a few moments of staring, Blake was able to make out what appeared to be a short sword peaking from the part of his cloak, thus dashing her thoughts before her eyes continued to rove over his body. After he reached out and placed his left hand upon the pommel of his weapon, however, Blake was able to make out what appeared to be a knife hidden on the underside of his arm, held in place by two straps and concealed by his gloves.

Why would someone dressed like a knight wield a _kunai,_ of all types of throwing knives available on the market _?_

At first, he seemed to be meditating or resting in peace until Blake came to stand next to him, glancing downwards every few seconds in confusion. Just what was it about the blond that kept snagging her attention?

Despite 'falling over' when the turbulence initially hit, the figure showed little interest in speaking or maintaining eye contact for more than a second or two at most. In fact, he almost seemed unnerved by her staring once Blake straightened herself up.

Falling into those azure blue eyes, Blake felt something calling to her from beyond the surface of his twin oceans, only for them to turn away as quickly as they locked with her own. When he got up and dismissed himself, amber eyes watched with keen interest as he stuck to the edges of the crowds, even blending in and disappearing from sight a few times in the crowds. The way he rolled his feet as he padded out of the room the two shared with a few other students was oddly familiar to her, but once more found herself unable to place where she had seen such a gait.

Blake stalked the cloaked figure from a dozen feet back, keeping out of his peripherals at all points, all while going over what she remembered of her mothers lessons from so long ago. Blake was a Belladonna, whose women were know for being... clingy whenever something caught their eyes. She couldn't be certain, but he bore more thought than the rest of the mulling crowd and perhaps could keep her mind occupied until she either found a more suitable target, if she could.

There was one thing Blake had always wished for when her eyes closed at night, and it was to have someone to love her as hard as she loved them. Her desires had been projected unto an undeserving target once, she was loathe to make the same mistake again.

She had always dreamed of finding her own Ninja of Love, and in that moment, Blake was sure she found him, she just didn't understand why her ninja was running around dressed as a knight. She would have to do reconnaissance and keep watch from a good, safe distance, but Blake had a feeling any questions she had about the figure in white would be answered within the next few days.


	2. A Garden of Dead Flowers

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 2, A Garden of Dead Flowers_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

I think I may have done a slightly better job at capturing the feelings I am going for within this iteration of the story. Hopefully you all are just as satisfied as I am!

On another note, the cover art captures how I imagine Jaune to look about as well as I could get it, considering I'm about as good at art as I am writing, which is to say not all that good at all.

 **[RD]**

Ruby whined piteously to herself as she searched the crowds for her elder sister, hoping to introduce the blond to her newest silent companion when she saw Jaune slink off from the corner of her eyes. With a pout, Ruby realized that once again, she was alone, now standing among a crowd of strangers while waiting for the wise words of the esteemed Headmaster. It wasn't the first time she had been abandoned without a word, seemingly being the story of her life, but it stung to have been so quickly fled from without so much as a goodbye.

The young girl was disheartened upon realizing her newest acquaintance didn't want to stick around, but she could also understand that maybe, just _maybe_ he wasn't a people person, as her dad liked to put it. Since he technically _was_ her first friend outside of her weapon and sister, considering she was convinced the two were just that, Ruby had really wanted to show her newly found companion off.

'So he might be antisocial like me, just... on purpose.' Ruby noted to herself, adding another characteristic to the figure in white besides his name, weapon and gender. It was hard for her to get a feel for his personality so far, being soft spoken and seemingly withdrawn, aloof to the point he almost looked sad. It wasn't that he was moping, but the lackluster shine of his eyes made her think something was weighing heavily on his mind.

The young Reaper didn't take it personally, as from the way he dressed, it was pretty obvious that he wasn't one to hang out in the middle of a crowd. Anyone walking around with their hood up like he had sort of screamed 'leave me alone'. Glancing around once more, she found him waiting with his back to the wall, close to the only entrance on the audience section of the auditorium. With a small wave of his hand, it became obvious that he didn't ditch her after all. She hadn't ever heard of a _male_ wallflower, but then again, what did she know at fifteen going on sixteen?

'And he dislikes crowds. I can work with that.' Ruby nodded and moved to stand with him before she was stopped halfway by her older sister Yang.

"There you are! How could you leave me like that?" Ruby began her neigh hysterical tirade as she was pulled into a one armed embrace by the blond dressed in orange, brown, black and yellow and forced to walk with her in a different direction all together, "I literally _exploded_!"

Her silver eyes darted towards the white cloaked figure quickly over her sisters shoulder, catching his eyes for only a moment before her attention was forcefully brought back to Yang once more. 'Dang it, Yang!'

"Oh please, it couldn't have been _that_ bad!" Yang tried to play it off with a wave of her free hand, only for Ruby to give her one of her patented soul sucking stares after turning her head back in the blonds direction, "You're kidding, right?"

"I _wish_ I was ki-" Ruby was cut off as her shoulder collided with something once more, sending herself and the figure she ran into reeling before they both corrected themselves, "Sorry, sorry!"

"I apo-oh, not _you_ again! First, you cause a Dust reaction and now you want to jump in peoples way?!" The silver haired figure exclaimed, the same person that Ruby had an unfortunate encounter with earlier, "If this is going to be a common occurrence in the future, I can already tell I've made a mistake in choosing to attend Beacon!"

"Oh _wow_ , you _weren't_ kidding..." Yang trailed off before pulling Ruby away from the irate female still ranting about the safety procedures that needed to be followed when handling Dust, "Alright, this is clearly a misunderstanding, miss, how about you two take a deep breath and start over?"

" _Only_ after she promises to be more careful in the future." The slim female arguing with Ruby stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms, her posture the very definition of stuck up.

"I already _did_!" Ruby exclaimed almost angrily, stomping her right foot in irritation at being chewed out not once, but twice for simple mistakes that _could_ have been avoided all together, "Look, I'm sorry, I'll be more careful in the future! Just! Stop! Yelling!"

The female dressed in a pale blue-white dress took a step back at the tone Ruby took, one hand coming to rest on her chest before she pursed her lips and nodded, "I a-, hmph... just be more careful in the future."

With that, the silver haired female dressed in white stomped away with her head held high once more, her long silver hair swaying behind her all the while.

"Well, look's like you've made a... _fri_ _enemy_ , Rubes... ouch." Yang winced at the encounter between the two, knowing that trying to jump in the middle of it would have done no good at all, "If she keeps acting rude, I'll knock her down a peg, don't worry."

"I... thanks, Yang," Ruby sighed tiredly as she watched the figure stalk away, knowing that yet another potential friend had been turned against her over her awkward behavior once more, "But... I really _did_ make a friend!"

"Oh, really now?" Yang perked up instantly, her eyebrows raising almost to her hairline in shock at Ruby's admittance, "Where are they, then?"

"Over there, in the whi- where'd he go?!" Ruby glanced back to where she thought Jaune was resting, only to no longer see him amongst the sea of students surrounding the entrance and exit of the auditorium, "Oh no, I've... I've lost my only friend!"

"I'm... standing behind you, Ruby." Came a faintly accented voice from behind both sisters, causing both to nearly leap from their flesh in shock before spinning around to face the person speaking.

Yang felt her breath hitch in her throat upon seeing the white cloaked figure from the airship once again, only for her halted thought process to reboot upon seeing Ruby throw her arms around the blond and tightly embrace his midsection, ignoring the metal of his cuirass rubbing against her forehead.

"Ah, Jaune! There you are, I thought I lost you _forever_!" Ruby exclaimed happily before pulling him forward and throwing both of her arms out as she forcefully introduced him to her sister, "Yang, this is Jaune... uh, what's your last name?"

"Arc?" Jaune seemed very unsure of himself as he spoke, either of his arms drawing towards his chest as if trying to prevent himself from being grabbed again, "Jaune Arc, nice to meet you. Is, uh, this going to be a common occurrence?"

"She's just being dramatic, it's totally normal," Yang was quick to explain the situation before holding her hand out for the cloaked figure to shake, "Yang Xiao-Long."

Jaune hesitated for a moment before he accepted her hand shake, this time using the macho-man grip. He was glad he did, because it was obvious that this Yang character was sizing him up.

"You mind telling me why you came sneaking up behind us? I knew she would rep- er, _attract_ some _undesirables_ , but I wasn't expecting her to move so quick." The blond boxer popped her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her bosom before sizing up the figure before her once more, taking note of his defensive posture and how he seemed to avoid making eye contact for longer than a split second at a time.

Jaune straightened his back before applying even more pressure to his grip, letting her know that he wasn't going to be backing down from her test despite refusing to meet her eyes, "Forgive me, I heard the... _conversation_ between the silver haired one and Ruby, or rather saw it. It was kind of impossible to not try and come to her defense but too many people got in my way."

The grip Yang was trying to give him diminished greatly upon his confession, allowing him to do the same. "Ah, that's cool, then. Sorry, you can never be sure nowadays, especially with how young she is."

"That's reasonable." Jaune agreed, knowing that he would be sizing up any and all male figures that dared approach his darling little sisters, even if only for friendship.

The only other males that Jaune trusted around his seven female family members were both dead and gone. "It is good to see she has an older sibling watching her back."

"Of course! I'm just glad she was invited to attend early, otherwise I only would have had two years of the protective older sister gig!" Yang was boisterous, that much was certain. She also seemed to talk enough for the three of them as they continued to wait on the words of the head master.

"Oh?" Jaune tilted his head to the side with slightly wide eyes, his tone carrying more than a trace amount of curiosity, "That's so cool! You must be super skilled or something then, right?"

Ruby and Yang could tell that he meant what he said, especially due to the amazed tone he spoke with.

"Thanks, but it was really nothing special." Ruby grinned at the praise with a light dusting of pink rushing to her cheeks, but the way she crossed her arms behind her back and scuffed the floor with one of her boots indicated she might have some form of downing thoughts.

Jaune leaned down and bumped shoulders with her lightly, almost sending her sprawling over until she corrected herself. "Hey, what was that for!"

"If you were invited to attend _Beacon_ early, you gotta' be skilled!" Jaune meant every word, as well. It was obvious that it was one of the professors that scouted her, and each were skilled warriors in their own might. "Being humble is never a bad thing, but having a bit of pride isn't either, ya know?"

"You know, I think I like you, knight boy," Yang placed both hands on her hips and let loose a blinding smile, all teeth bared. It was an honest smile, one that also reminded Jaune of his nicer sisters, the ones who hadn't acted as overprotective bodyguards. "Maybe if she hears that enough, she might actually start to believe it! I've been telling her that for days!"

Ruby looked like she wanted to argue, but a firm glance from both lilac and azure blue silenced her opposition and rendered her mostly docile. If both Yang and Jaune as well as her father continued to say the same thing, just maybe, _maybe_ they were all on to something.

 **[RD]**

Blake watched as her potential target interacted with the blond and black haired females, doing her best to resist the urge to approach the three too soon. From the corner of her eye, she noticed as the white haired female, Weiss Schnee, move towards the black and red haired female named Ruby with barely concealed irritation.

Of _course_ there was a Schnee this far from the safety of Atlas. Of _course_ she would attend the same school, at the same wouldn't be named a cruel mistress should she not sew the seeds of discord among those enthralled in her grasp.

When both white clad figures showed themselves to be content with ignoring the existence of one another, despite her target moving to perhaps come to the black haired ones defense yet again, Blake let loose a breath she didn't know she was holding and moved closer to them as well.

With a roll of her icy blue eyes, the Schnee heiress moved away from the two sisters and the cloaked figure that came to stand behind the two just as she walked away, obviously having no reason to speak with them any further.

'Good riddance.' Blake usually tried her best to at least ignore the world around her, but the Schnee family earned a place in her black book due to their treatment of the Faunus workers employed in their mines and factories.

Though she didn't want to admit it, she found the Schnee heiress to be a beautiful person to behold. If only her mind and soul reflected her physical beauty, perhaps Blake would have been glad to meet her. Now, she was glad Weiss was no longer standing so close to Jaune, if that was even his real name. She overheard him introduce himself to Ruby and vice versa, making her glad to have risked hanging so close to her intended target.

Blake whispered his name to herself, as if testing the taste of it upon her tongue. A content smirk pulled at her lips as if the cat caught the canary.

It was a fitting expression, to be certain.

Watching them would only do so much, and if Blake wasn't mistaken, the would-be students would have the rest of the night to spend getting to know one another. Initiation wouldn't begin until the morning time, and by dawn, Blake hoped to have snagged Jaune's attention even the slightest bit.

Now, if only the Headmaster would hurry up so Blake could get back to her newly rekindled hobby of target spotting, as she dubbed it.

 **[RD]**

Pyrrha Nikos wasn't sure how to feel about attending Beacon, even if it had only been an hour since her arrival. At first, it excited her to leave the continent of Anima, to leave the Kingdom of Mistral and spread her carmine wings wide, to experience what the wonderful world of Remnant had to offer her. The city of Vale was beautiful in its own ways and the people were kind enough, but it just didn't feel like home quite yet. It was supposed to be an adventure, but the redhead couldn't help but crave a nice, home cooked meal right about then.

Her mouth salivated at the thought of a meal of garlic shrimp and seasoned rice, but a firm shaking of her head dispelled any such lingering desires. The redheaded hoplite instead tried to focus on the situation at hand once more, ignoring the pang of desire that still rumbled in her stomach as aftershocks would after an earthquake.

She had been approached by multiple other students within her time not only at the Academy proper, but on the airship as well, each eager to shake her hand or have a picture taken with her. That was as far as their interest seemed to extend, none bothering to try to get to know Pyrrha Nikos and instead focusing entirely on The Invincible Girl, as she was also known as. Of course, the four time champion took it all in stride, placing a false smile upon her face for her adoring fans as she shook hands and pretended to listen to their prattling just long enough to appear polite.

That was all they were, at this point. Fans. None deigned to act as a peer capable or willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with her against the horde of darkness before them all. Instead, they all seemed to be doing their best to place her upon a level that they couldn't reach themselves while cowering back to let her fight at the front of it all, something that had occurred more times than she could count during her missions issued while at Sanctum.

There was one saying that Pyrrha was familiar with, one that was taught to her by her agent and adoptive mother. 'It's lonely at the top.'

Truer words had never been spoken, and Pyrrha knew it well. Aphrodite and Ares Nikos, her mother and father, had tried time and time again to get her to make friends, but they seemed to lack the ability to understand just how much of an impossibility that was when none tried to _act_ like a friend.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke her from her thoughts, drawing her emerald green eyes to the stage before the mulling sea of students around her, each faceless and bland in their own rights. It was sad, but she would be grateful if she could remember a handful of people by name by the time her attendance of Beacon came to an end.

Dressed in an immaculate suit of black with a green scarf around his throat and wielding his ever present cup of what she assumed was coffee and his cane, Headmaster Ozpin made for an intimidating sight for those who didn't know of the mans kindness.

Of course, with how aloof the Headmaster acted as he approached the podium, it was no surprise that his kindness was speculated to be mere rumor-mill gossip. Behind the Headmaster was his Vice-Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch, a woman who turned heads no matter where she went.

To be honest, Pyrrha was more than a little intimidated by the stern looking woman, if only for her constantly from and piercing, lime green eyes, not to mention her wickedly designed purple waist cape. The riding crop didn't help the rumors that the woman was a devout sadist, even the Nikos could see the truth in the words and she had just her appearance to work with.

The Headmasters address did not last long, and something about his words did not sit right with her.

She certainly couldn't be the only one to think his words weird, either, for the whispering and concerned murmuring began as soon as the two authority figures motioned to move away and leave the students to mingle once more.

Glancing around the crowd one final time, her emerald eyes came to rest upon a figure dressed in mostly all white, his cloak shuffling every few moments as he shifted his body weight from one foot to another. Beside him was a black and red haired female that seemed a bit young to be attending Beacon while a buxom blond finished their group of three.

They seemed friendly enough, judging by their small smiles.

Perhaps she could approach them and ask their opinion of the Headmasters speech.

 **[RD]**

He was being watched. It was almost unnerving, if not for the fact the gaze bore no dark intent. There was no anger, nor hatred being directed at him. Without a hint of bloodlust or killer intent, it was something Jaune was going to have to ignore.

He briefly considered leaving and perhaps trying to lure them into the open before the idea was promptly tossed out. Confrontation was usually one of the last things Jaune wanted, especially considering how much attention it would bring to him. Evasion would also likely be impossible as there were only so many places in the academy he could wander on the first day, especially considering he wasn't officially considered a student until the initiation was completed.

It was hard to pay attention to a distracted man when you were being distracted yourself, so Jaune was unable to discern anything spoken by the illustrious Headmaster besides his final warnings.

It seemed unusual, however, for the man to be unable to pull himself away from whatever troubled him long enough to consult his would be followers and students, but it was hardly Jaune's place to say such things. The casual dismissal and subsequent retreat of the two figures atop the stage led to murmurs sounding out among the crowd, some pleased with the curtness while others seemed to be a bit raw at the casual dismissal.

Jaune hardly cared, especially due to being informed of just what he was supposed to expect of Beacon's Initiation due to his sisters attendance some six years prior while the Village Guard was still being run by Brutus. Johanna Maria Arc, or Maria for those close enough to address her fondly, was almost a spitting image of their mother, Juniper Lucrecia Arc, if not for the lithe frame that the two eldest sisters seemed to be cursed with.

He knew that the test that he would be expected to take the following day would require some form of partnership between himself and one other student as well as a mock 'search and rescue'. During the time of Maria's attendance, partners were determined by the first person you made eye contact with after landing in the Emerald Forest, and you were teamed by matching items with another pair of students outside of your own.

Jaune was desperately hoping that the parameters he was expected to fulfill matched those of his sisters objectives as well, because most of his planning revolved around certain details that technically were very subject to change. Being a strategist at heart and having read his families 'Big Book O' War' front to back and back to front a dozen times, he knew that no plan survived contact with the enemy.

While he had memorized the topographical maps of all four major Kingdoms, not to mention every invasion plan that his family had proposed against each Kingdom opposed to Mistral at the turn of the century, none of that would help him here.

So what if he knew a safe route through the Twin Wolf Gulch to the north that would minimize his troops presence in a supposed incursion into Sanus, he couldn't predict the next four years due to the dozens of variables lingering all around him.

Each and every student was a potential partner, teammate, or dare he say it rival in the future. The uncertainty of it was what bothered him the most, considering, once again, his inability to peer past the fog of the present to catch a glimpse of what the future might hold for him. He almost dared to hope against hope that he might be paired with either Ruby or Yang, if only because he knew their names and found them to be at least presently pleasant to speak with.

"Are you alright, Jaune?" Came the sweet voice of Ruby Rose, drawing Jaune from his thoughts of war plans drafted by the Patriarch of the Arc Clan during the Great Conflict, as his family knew it as.

"I'm alright, Ruby, just thinking about tomorrow." Jaune answered after a moment of thinking over his answer, knowing that telling the young girl he was thinking over invasion plans would hardly blow over well. "Why do you ask?"

"You just had this really intense look on your face, like you were planning world domination or something!" Ruby laughed at her own joke before seemingly having an idea pop into her head, "Oh, since we're going to be stuck here for a while, let's play a few games of Remnant: the Game!"

"You don't want to play that game with me, believe me." Jaune answered quickly with a shake of his head, almost concerned about how accurately Ruby was able to guess the nature of his thoughts based on his expression alone.

Maybe it was just a lucky guess, he would have to test her in the future just to be sure though.

"Why do you say that?" Yang questioned while glancing around, seemingly trying to find another spot for the group to rest due to how the crowds were starting to thin, "Hey, hold that thought, let's grab a spot before all the good ones get snagged! Come on, you two!"

Any discussions about Remnant: the Game were abandoned in favor of scouring the large auditorium in an attempt to find the best sleeping spot for the two sisters, Jaune being dragged along for the ride by the two sisters seemingly to keep them company.

There were a few subtle questions sent his way by Yang, further probing his responses in an attempt to get a better read on his personality. He knew what she was doing before she even started, having known it was coming due to the fleeting glances she continued to send his way when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

That, and the whispering between the two sisters was not quite as silent as they hoped, especially with his Semblance amplifying his senses beyond what normal Human beings might have experienced under normal circumstances.

Amplification was a rather handy ability to be blessed with, especially due to the versatility in which he had learned to use it through years and years of nearly constant usage.

"There, this should be a good spot for the three of us!" Ruby announced happily after throwing down her sleeping bag before excitedly confiscating Yang's and throwing it down as well, "Now we can all hang out, talk about cute bo-, paint our na-, uh..."

Ruby paused after each suggestion past hanging out, glancing at Jaune each time in confusion and embarrassment. Her suggestions, of course, were more fit for a female friend and not something Jaune would likely participate in actively.

"We can gossip, no worries," Jaune waved away her concern, his eyes twinkling brightly in mirth and crinkling around the edges to denote a smile, "I grew up with six sisters and my mother, so girl talk is all I know, mostly."

"Oh man, _six sisters?!"_ Yang reeled back at the number before glancing to Ruby quickly and then back to Jaune, "How the hell do you handle _six_ , I have trouble with one!"

"Hey!" Ruby defended herself almost instantly, crossing her arms and glancing away from the two after a moment of staring at Yang in disbelief, "I'm a good sister, I don't know what you're talking about!"

Yang almost brought up the time she had gotten into a fight with another girl for speaking to her crush at the time crossly but thought better of it, especially at the desperate look Ruby was giving her before she glanced back at Jaune rapidly twice.

Yang knew a plea for silence when she 'heard' one and thus failed to mention the slightly turbulent times Ruby had gone through at Signal and instead agreed with her sisters words with a smile.

"Ruby's always been a doll, I'm just picking. Seriously though, six sisters?" Yang tried to change the subject back to the main question she had for Jaune at the moment after his most recent admission.

"My dad didn't want to stop until he had a boy, I guess." Jaune laughed lightly as he thought about his words, "I've got two younger sisters though, so maybe he just wanted a lot of children period. He was a strange man, for certain."

"You say 'was' instead of 'is'..." Yang noted after a moment of silence, the unspoken question hanging in the air for only a moment before her answer came.

Jaune sighed heavily and glanced down at the weapon on his hip before looking back up at Ruby and Yang, the two sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder across from him.

"He doesn't have to fight anymore, now it's up to me."


	3. Danger Close

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 3, Danger Close_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

To Sideswipe, Zenith and Mo, I was very discontent with how out of character Blake was from the get go, like I mentioned previously. Instead of completely scrapping the story once more, I've decided to remove the parts I was not happy with to rework them until I _am_ content.

I can only apologize for any confusion I may have caused.

A few scenes have been completely scrapped between chapters three and four while others have replaced them completely. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter a bit more than the previous iterations.

 **[RD]**

Pyrrha bit her lip in slight apprehension as she eased closer to the group of three she had spotted earlier, overhearing most of their conversation with ease due to the silence in the general area they chose to settle for the night. She had tried to follow them discretely while avoiding the more nosy groups of students who had already invaded her personal space in excitement of meeting 'their idol', as they would say.

Out of all the students she could have chosen to try and form a rapport with, something told her those three would be her best bet. The fact that they seemed to gravitate towards one another and keep to themselves instead of paying mind to the steady stream of students pointing and gasping upon seeing 'THE Pyrrha Nikos' really put the nail in the coffin as far as she was concerned.

There was only one other person secluded away in the small section of the auditorium near the furthest corner from the door, a black haired female dressed in monotone colors that seemed awfully interested in whatever it was she was looking at on her Scroll. Pyrrha gave her a fleeting glance as she neared closer to the three she intended to introduce herself to, taking note of how tense she became the closer and closer she got to the three.

'How peculiar.' Pyrrha thought idly as she turned her attention away from the black haired teenager nearest to the corner of the large room and instead focused back on the three before her. The blond female dressed in brown, black and orange seemed to notice her first, her lilac eyes tearing away from the white cloaked figure sitting in front of her and instead locking onto the hoplite.

It was only when she was confidant she had their attention did she finally work up the courage to give her most casual greeting possible. "Er... Hello, I couldn't help but overhear you mention girl talk, would you mind if I joined?"

Jaune almost felt his breath hitch in his throat upon seeing who had spoken up, turning his head to the right to get a better look before turning his body as well to fully face them.

"You..." Jaune pointed a shaky hand towards the redhead, his voice dropping an octave as he spoke.

Pyrrha blinked twice before taking a step back at the accusatory finger pointed in her direction. "I'm sorry?"

"You..." Jaune repeated, his hand shaking slightly as if strained by a great weight, "Why is your cereal so unhealthy?"

"Wait, what?" Yang questioned, turning to the redhead with a curious expression, "You own a cereal brand or something?"

"...I'm on the front of every box of Pumpkin Petes." Pyrrha admitted after a few moments, a small smile crossing her face upon his words, "They are incredibly unhealthy and could use a lot less sugar, but my opinion matters little to the company. I just... get to be the face everyone gets to look at."

Jaune nodded his head once before his cloak shuffled at his chest level, indicating his crossing of his arms, "My little sisters are obsessed with the stuff! I've tried to get them to quit, take a guess how that went."

Pyrrha couldn't help giggling at his admission, his exasperation obvious. Bringing one of her gloved hands to her face to cover her small smile, Pyrrha couldn't help the quipped small joke, "I hear they are quite addictive."

"Very." Jaune sighed before extending his hand towards her, "Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

The redhead seemed pleased as she took his hand, her grip about as firm as Ruby's had been. Despite her rather strong appearance, she was surprisingly gentle and almost seemed reluctant to release his hand after introducing herself as well by habit.

"Pyrrha Nikos, it's nice to meet you, Jaune." Pyrrha looked around at the three sitting figures almost sheepishly before she noticed Jaune pat the spot next to him a few times to indicate for her to take a seat.

"I'm Ruby Rose, nice to meet you! I've never met anyone famous before!" Ruby seemed as excited as always as she introduced herself to her fellow redhead, though there was a strange glint in her eye as she sized up the distance between Pyrrha and Jaune.

Deciding it was likely just a trick of the light, Pyrrha politely introduced herself to Ruby while failing to mention what she was really famous for outside of being on the front of every box of Pumpkin Pete's.

"I mean, she's just a cereal mascot, right? Yang Xiao Long, nice to meet me, I know." Yang grinned before glancing around at the rather empty section of the auditorium they were sitting in, "Huh, are you sure cereal is all you're known for, Pyrrha? I could have sworn I've seen your face somewhere else..."

Cursing her luck, Pyrrha gave Yang a strained smile before opening her mouth to speak, only for Jaune to snap his fingers as if having a 'eureka' moment.

"My sister Maria mentioned you a few times, I believe," Jaune reached up and rubbed his forehead as if it would help him think faster, only to continuously draw a blank as he tried to recall where he had heard her name previously, "I can't seem to recall, but it had something to do with fighting, correct?"

"I was the four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament when I attended Sanctum..." Pyrrha trailed off and glanced to the right, her voice a bit quieter than before despite admitting to have won one of the more trying fighting tournaments in the Four Kingdoms.

"Hey, that means your super strong, then! We should spar sometime, P-money!" Yang didn't seem like she was going to start gushing over Pyrrha's victories, causing the redhead to relax once more.

"That's so cool! Way cooler than getting into Beacon two years early!" Ruby was just as excited as Yang was, though she didn't seem too keen on asking for a fight from the taller redhead.

"As long as you agree to not beat me up, we'll be alright." Jaune answered after Pyrrha turned to him as if asking how he had felt about her admission, though his opinion should have hardly mattered to her.

It was strange, but it seemed as if their answers had been what she was looking for, as the bright smile that appeared on her face could have lit the night.

As the second redhead of their group of four settled down to the left of Jaune, the blond couldn't help but turn slightly to get a better look at her and do his best to break down what little of her personality and thoughts he could pick up from her body language.

Pyrrha seemed more nervous than even Ruby, though it seemed to be steadily diminishing as she allowed her shoulders to relax from their slightly drawn in position. She was obviously confidant, having a fire in her eyes that he had only seen in veteran Huntsmen and Huntresses, but she seemed about as lacking in social skills as Ruby and himself, surprisingly.

Rather, it should be unsurprising, considering the type of damage fame does on ones social life. He remembered stories of his fathers attempts of going into Mistral proper before his official retirement from the Huntsmen Association of Mistral, having grown chaotic after twenty years of displaying valor on the field even his grandfather could be proud of.

When you saved hundreds of peoples lives in the course of your career while providing shelter and work for twice as many, you gain a bit of a following. Said following seemed to have died with him, however, as only a dozen or so of his former employees remained within the village of Amarila.

He certainly hoped Pyrrha led a long and happy life so she could cultivate her fame and use it for good, as his father had done and his fathers father before him.

"Despite agreeing to girl talk, so to speak, I refuse to talk about cute boys. Just throwing that out there now." Jaune felt the need to lighten the mood with a poor attempt at humor, drawing a giggle from both Ruby and Pyrrha alike for his efforts.

"Well that's just no fun at all, dude," Yang rolled her eyes at the way Jaune phrased his last statement, "Here I thought we something we could bond over besides being blond and good looking, but whatever I guess!"

"We can talk about whatever you want to talk about, Jaune, don't let her mess with you like that!" Once more, Ruby was quick to come to his defense, something that brought another small smile to his face at how vehemently she had spoken.

"I can tell she was just joking, don't worry... I may seem oblivious, but I'm pretty well versed in the art of sarcasm," The white cloaked knight took a pensive glance around the area before turning his attention back to the three standing nearest to him, "I guess we just hang out until we get sick of one another?"

"I don't think I'm can get sick of you, Jaune, you're my fi- friend!" Ruby chirped happily before stumbling over her words slightly and reaching into her pocket to retrieve her Scroll, "Speaking of, let's exchange contacts before I forget, that way we can text and play games and stuff before bed!"

"Sure, here," Jaune withdrew his own Scroll and held the sync button on the small bottom slide bar, his contact information being broadcasted to Ruby's Scroll while her own information was synced with his, "You know, you're the first contact in my Scroll that isn't related to me or pertaining to work."

"Wow, you're my first too!" Ruby gushed, her eyes alight with happiness in hearing that she wasn't the only person suffering from a lack of friends, "Not only do we have matching cloaks, but we're both social awkward as well! It's like we were made to be besties!"

The buxom blond sputtered heavily before leaning forward and interjecting herself into the conversation once more. "Heyyy, now that the Headmaster is finally done talking, you mind if I ask you those questions, Jaune?"

"Er, sure," Jaune shrugged his shoulders in response, his azure gaze traveling from Ruby to Yang as he was addressed once more, "What do you want to know?"

"This one may seem a little weird, but... did you happen to know a woman named Summer?" Yang asked after biting her bottom lip and hoping against hope that she was right.

"As a matter of fact..." Jaune laughed lightly before turning his attention back to Ruby, "I was going to ask _you_ the same question. She was my mothers best friend and used to stop by whenever she was in the area. She... Aunt Summer meant a lot to me."

The blond knight proceeded to reach into a pouch sewn onto the inside of his traveling cloak to remove his wallet before flipping it upon and revealing the contents to the three standing nearest to him. Flipping the long catalog of small photographs that unraveled from his wallet, Jaune reached for one nearest to the bottom before revealing it to the two sisters.

Dressed in identical white cloaks, Summer Rose stood posed for the camera with a small blond held securely against her chest, both smiling brightly all the while. Behind them was a massive bed of white roses that seemed to go on forever, something that caught both sisters eyes instantly. Yang and Ruby both felt their hearts beat harder once Jaune finally revealed the entire picture, especially the youngest of the two sisters.

Summer had been his favorite person in the world outside of his mom when he was younger, though many of his memories with her were blurry at best. It was only when he tried to force himself to remember that he grew uncomfortable, this time proving no different. Reaching up and grabbing his head lightly, Jaune shook away the strange fog that overcame his mind before focusing on the present once more, unaware of the fleeting, piercing gazes that both sisters continued to send him when he wasn't paying attention.

"This was taken on my fifth birthday, the last time I ever saw Aunt Summer... she was my favorite person outside of my family, I wouldn't come out of my room for months after..." Jaune trailed off before glancing down at the ground, "She talked about you two a lot, now that I think about it, though she never referred to you by name..."

"Oh? What did she call us, then?" Yang questioned after a few moments of silence, her eyes not leaving the photograph as she tried to memorize the expression on Summer's face. Yang knew their nicknames, of course, but she felt the need to ask regardless.

"Her little gem and her sunny dragon," Jaune pursed his lips in thought as he tried to recall the last time he ever saw Summer, despite usually hating the feeling that thinking of the past brought him, "She was looking forward to introducing me to her daughters, I guess that means you two."

"Yeah, that's us..." Yang's voice was incredibly small, her eyes unable to tear themselves away from the photograph of Summer and Jaune, "You know, I think I remember her mentioning you too now that you mention it, she even had a nickname for you."

"Oh yeah? What was it- wait... never mind, I remem-" Jaune had tried to stop Yang from speaking by waving his arms in front of him, only for the now grinning blond to snap her lilac eyes upwards to lock with his own.

"It's finally nice to meet you, Crybaby." Yang drawled slowly, just loud enough for Ruby and Pyrrha to catch as well, causing both to giggle at the male blonds expense.

"God damn it..." Jaune lowered his head upon hearing their laughter, though he didn't let it get to him.

"Hey, Jaune... can you... tell me a few stories, about my mom?" Ruby eventually questioned, her voice smaller than Jaune thought possible, almost as if she expected him to say no.

The blond pretending to be a knight felt his heart clench slightly upon seeing the hopeful look on her face, especially knowing that she wouldn't push the issue if he decided to keep his stories to himself. Jaune felt his face pulling into a bright smile once more as his mind wandered to one of his most favored memories revolving around the quiet, cloaked woman that he claimed as his Aunt. "Of course I will, Ruby, how about the time she caught me trying to bake a batch of cookies alone when I was four? Or maybe how she tried to convince me to run away with her so she could adopt me?"

 **[RD]**

Darkness had fallen once more, most of the students having changed into clothing they can sleep in a few hours back. Jaune was still dressed in his white turtleneck, jeans and cloak, however, feeling no need to change clothing to get comfortable.

"Just admit it, you didn't bring any night clothes." Yang tried to get a rise out of him, causing Jaune to roll his eyes before shaking his head.

"If I show you _why_ I'm refusing to change, will you promise to not laugh?" Jaune retorted quickly before reaching into his bag and removing a piece of blue cloth from its depths, "This, this right here is why! I didn't pack my pants, and one of my sisters thought it would be cute to sneak this into my bag when I asked them for help packing."

The article of clothing in question was a dark blue onesie that had a hood with large bunny ears sewn onto the top, making for a rather ridiculous looking piece of nightwear for a male to wear.

"That has got to be the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life." Yang stated in a no nonsense tone of voice, her face carefully schooled into a blank visage despite the uproarious laughter he could see shining in her eyes, "You should totally wear it, I promise I won't take pictures and blackmail you with them later."

"How about _you_ wear it, then?" Jaune questioned incredulously before shaking his head in the negative, "I refuse to wear this, hence why I'm sleeping in jeans."

"Pfft, I doubt I could get the zipper up if I put it on, Jaune." Yang rolled her eyes before gesturing towards her chest, "I have two good reasons on why that isn't going to happen."

Jaune, of course, refused to allow his eyes to travel to where she was gesturing, instead pretending as if he didn't notice the gesture at all while tugging at his cloak and adjusting its position on his shoulders for the umpteenth time that night. Tugging at the hood slightly once more, the blond teenager glanced around in concern as he felt the eyes of someone fall upon him once more, though he couldn't determine just where the feeling was originating from.

"You keep glancing around like you're expecting a Grimm to jump out, relax!" Ruby slid closer to Jaune from her position to his right, brushing her bare shoulder against his cloak in a shoulder bump as she did so. "You don't have to be on guard around us, we're practically family, right?"

"Don't say that, little sis, there might be some kind of pervert hanging around just _waiting_ to take advantage of him." The way Yang said that caused Jaune to shiver slightly, his blue eyes darting left and right slightly, "You need to watch out for us Huntresses, you know, most of us can get pretty handsy, if you know what I mean."

"Why do you keep messing with him like that, Yang! You're going to scare him off! _"_ Ruby chimed in once more, her tone denoting that she was just joking as well, "Then we won't get to play with his sword while he's sleeping!"

"Ruby!" Yang gasped before laughing incredulously, unable to comprehend the words that escaped from her _assumed_ innocent little sisters mouth.

While the blond knew that her little sister wasn't quite as naive as she pretended to be, she wasn't quite aware she was versed enough to make such lewd innuendos, let alone have the gall to make them about such a subject.

Jaune nearly choked on his tongue upon hearing that, his eyes snapping towards the small redhead sitting across from him with concern shining in them as plain as day.

"What? That's a nice looking sword, I just want to see how well balanced it is!" Ruby quickly defended herself upon seeing the looks Pyrrha, Jaune and Yang were sending her while gesturing towards Jaune wildly, "Is my love of weapons really _that_ weird?"

"No, no, it's not that," Jaune amended her statement before quickly deciding he didn't feel like explaining why her words caused such a reaction, "I'll let you see Crocea Mors tomorrow before the test, just so long as you promise to never, ever say that again."

"You got a deal!" Ruby quickly agreed while sticking her hand out for Jaune to shake, which he did to help seal the bargain.

He couldn't help but notice that Ruby's grip was far stronger than it had been previously, though not quite on par with the strength her sister displayed.

"So what do you think is going to happen tomorrow, anyway?" Yang eventually posed after the group settled into a slightly uncomfortable silence, "I mean, I know we are supposed to be on teams of four, but how do we _get_ our teams?"

"I actually have an idea on that, though you're going to have to lean closer to hear." Jaune eventually murmured just loud enough for the group around him to hear, his eyes darting left and right once more to check and see if the coast was clear of any authority figures within Beacon.

Seeing no supervising teacher within sight, the blond eventually decided to risk in and leaned forward, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper as he did so. Yang, Ruby and Pyrrha leaned forward as he did, hoping to hear what he had to say without being forced to ask him to repeat himself.

"My oldest sister Maria used to attend Beacon a few years back. She told me that they _launch_ us into the Emerald Forest and that the first person we make eye contact with is supposed to be our partner." Jaune intoned as lightly as he could before continuing, only pausing long enough to catch his breath, "From there, we have to travel to a certain location, obtain a specified object and return back to where we were launched. The object we retrieve is _supposed_ to determine our team placement, though this is all slightly dated information."

"Wow, that's... really handy to know, actually," Yang murmured thoughtfully as she flashed Jaune an appreciative smile, "I tried asking my uncle or my dad, neither would tell me anything. Thanks, Jaune, you're the _real_ MVP."

"Hah, we'll have to see if that's true tomorrow, I guess." Jaune waved lightly at the compliment, glad that he could have shared the information with Summer's two children.

While only one of the two were biologically related to Summer, the woman had clearly claimed both as her children, and thus both were deemed as such by Jaune as well.

The conversations between the four remained light for the next few hours, broaching the subject of favorite colors, foods and things of that nature as the group of new friends did their best to get a better read on one another.

When it became apparent that even the youngest member of their group was having difficulty keeping her eyes open, the four decided to call it a night and arranged their sleeping bags to be relatively close to one another.

Sliding his back down the wall behind him and sitting down heavily, Jaune released a sigh as he finished setting his belongings aside in preparation to sleep.

Ruby was the first to call out to the others as she closed her eyes to rest for the night, her sweet voice piercing the silence

"Goodnight, Jaune, Pyrrha, _Yang_." Ruby called out tiredly as she rolled over and allowed her silver eyes to lock onto the figure in white leaning against the wall not far from her, "Sleep well and sweet dreams!"

"You as well, Ruby, don't let the bed bugs bite," Jaune couldn't help but laugh lightly at the sweet tone the younger girl took when tired, "Same to you two, Yang, Pyrrha."

"Goodnight, Jaune. Goodnight, Yang and Ruby." Pyrrha called out tiredly, stumping over her words as she lifted her head blearily from her pillow before allowing it to drop once more.

She was out almost instantly, her light snores hardly muffled by her pillow.

"Thanks, Crybaby, though I honestly don't think we're the ones that have to worry about bites." Yang teased tiredly, rolling over much like Ruby to send him a small, almost flirtatious wink before her eyes closed once more, "You'll keep us fair maidens safe through the night, yeah?"

"Considering how heavily I sleep sometimes, you'd probably end up having to protect me if something happens... sorry." Jaune reached up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I've literally slept through a hurricane before, so..."

"You know what, that's fine too, I'll keep _you_ safe then," Yang didn't seem at all bothered by his admission, going as far as taking Ruby's joke from earlier and running with it, "Though you _might_ have to worry about _someone_ trying to play with your sword in your sleep, so I hope you can keep one eye open."

"Dang it, Yang! Why does it sound so _weird_ when you say it?!" Ruby demanded hotly, rolling over from her position on her back to smack her sister where she assumed her shoulder to be, only to end up getting a handful of her left breast as a result.

"Ugh, of course you aren't wearing a bra!" Ruby whispered harshly while reaching out to wipe her hand on Yang's blanket, drawing an unamused look from the elder blond sister.

"I've taken _two_ showers today, Rubes, I think I'm clean." Yang deadpanned before reaching out and pinching Ruby's thigh in retaliation, "Quit feeling me up or I'm _really_ going to think your a creeper!"

The two continued to whisper among themselves harshly after that, though their words were muffled by the blanket that Ruby quickly threw over the two for privacy.

"I... almost feel less safe than before, if I'm being honest." Jaune murmured to himself as he listened to Yang's breathing even out before she started snoring moments later, indicating her departure from the realm of consciousness. Ruby and Pyrrha were soon asleep as well, each snoring just a bit lighter than Yang, leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts once more as his body fought against allowing him to rest.

A few moments later, he, too, slipped into the realms of unconsciousness, though his dreams were far from peaceful.

 ** **[RD]****

The following morning, Jaune awoke far earlier than the rest of the strange group he seemed to have been drawn into, all three females nearest to him snoring contently. Sometime in the night, Ruby and Yang seemed to have gravitated closer and closer towards him until the youngest sister was pressed into his side while Yang seemed content to use both Ruby and himself as teddy bears, her long arms having reached out and buried themselves into his cloak.

Removing himself from the two had taken a few moments and quite a bit of cursing beneath his breath, but he had finally freed himself from the grip of Summer's greedy little dragon and made his way to the bathroom after snagging up his travel bag as he went.

After a few moments of walking, the blond dressed in white had finally reached his destination, having arrived far earlier than the rest of the students. This allowed him the luxury of having actual hot water to bathe with, something he had sorely missed during his travels through the country sides of both Sanus and Anima.

Jaune sighed deeply as he stared into the small mirror before him, having gotten a quick shower before brushing his teeth and shaving while he still had hot water available. The sound of students beginning to fill the hallways just outside the bathroom he was sequestered in fluttered through the open doorway, though he ignored them as best as he could.

Tired, azure blues stared back at him from the other side of the mirror, the usually sharp eyes he was used to seeing surprisingly dull. He never enjoyed looking in the mirror for any length of time, only seeing his father staring back more and more each day.

Emulation was the most sincere form of flattery, but there were times in his past where it was hard for his family to understand that he _wasn't_ Julius Arc, but _Jaune._ There were many, many similarities between the two, at least from the stories that he had heard of his father, but there were just as many differences as well.

Jaune wasn't quite as outspoken as his father, or his fathers father. He took more after his mother in that regards, being far more of an introvert with the ability to speak when spoken to. It wasn't so much he was shy, because heavens forbid there be a shy being doing the things he was about to be doing for a living, but he couldn't quite comprehend the gung-ho attitude that was prevalent amongst those with the Arc blood flowing through their veins.

Of course, of the seven Arc children, he was the only male and the only one to take after his father appearance wise. His six sisters all had the same silverish blond shade of hair that his mother did, as well as her refined facial features that made them seem almost aristocratic. To be honest, he always thought he looked rather plain compared to his sisters, like a peasant among nobles, but they had never said as such nor had he ever broached the subject.

His eldest sisters wouldn't have ever let him live down complimenting them in such a way, especially after their relationship had soured within the last few years. They hadn't been quite happy when Jaune started training under his mothers father at the age of twelve, nor when he had left home alone at the age of sixteen, but there was little they could have done to stop him.

He wanted to be more useful for his family, and providing large sums of money towards maintaining the massive Arc family compound that had been built over generations certainly went a long way. At one point, the Arc family had been the Arc Clan but the Great War saw the end of his families Golden Age, so to speak.

Each new generation of the family was supposed to add their own flair to the home while leaving room for the next to build their own extensions, leaving almost half a small towns worth of empty rooms to fall into disrepair from disuse and age.

When Jaune had declared his intentions of attending Beacon after spending a year gathering resources and networking around Vale, his families reactions had been varied, to say the least. His mother hadn't been pleased, nor displeased with him. She had maintained her ambivalence, as she always did, but he could see the tumultuous emotion in her eyes when she gave him permission to depart on his own.

There had been a few stipulations to their agreement, such as maintaining contact every so often, but none that had been deal breakers, so to speak. So, with his grandfathers blade and his fathers armor, Jaune Arc had set out to make a name for the Arc family once more, in whatever ways he could.

Stopping and helping total strangers for nothing in return was certainly fulfilling in its own way, but Jaune had certainly been more interested in jobs that actually paid him than he was playing Hero to every small village and town he stopped in. His journey to Vale from the countryside of Anima hadn't been quite as bad as one would have expected, especially considering he traveled alone the entire while, but it had been a task in and of itself.

Standing tall, Jaune broke himself away from his thoughts of the past, ignoring how the face in the mirror was steadily scowling at him as he went and instead focusing on anything and everything else. Gathering his personal items and returning them to their positions within his carrying pouch, Jaune left the communal bathroom with more tension in his body than he entered with, though certainly much cleaner than before.

 **[RD]**

Blake sighed contently as she tried to listen to Jaune leave his little group of four after being awoken by his cursing, only to realize that his footfalls were perfectly silent. For him to dampen the noise of his movement enough to even remain silent to her set of cat ears showed a great amount of skill in stealth, experience that someone dressed as a knight should hardly have.

She had spent the greater part of the night scribbling down little details about him that she had overheard from the conversations he had with the two sisters he had sequestered himself away with, though due to the distance between them, those details were few in number.

From what she has overheard and observed for herself, however, Blake was pretty sure she had a clear personality profile of her new found target.

A quick search of his name on the web had revealed little of his past, but it did paint a picture of his home life.

At some point, his father, Julius Arc, had passed away and received post-houmous awards from the Mistralian Huntsmen Association. There was little more known about the Arc family of this generation, but there was plenty about his past ancestors and their contributions to the four kingdoms. While it was interesting to know that he descended from a long line of decorated War Veterans and Huntsmen, Blake was far more interested in the current Arc heir than those of the past.

Due to a few different context clues she was able to pick up from his conversations and what little information was available about his family on the Web, Blake was certain she had him mostly figured out.

Jaune had to have been fast tracked into adulthood by the death of his father, causing him to grow up faster than he should have to provide for his family. While the Arc family seemed to be well connected in the political world when the Patriarch of the Arc family was still alive, many photos of the man still circulating the web from his time as a Huntsman, there hasn't been a public sighting of Juniper Arc or five of her children since her husbands death.

This information had taken her an hour or two to find, her scrolls frame nearly breaking with how fiercely she swiped through the information provided by the internet. It was worth it, though, as it gave her a much clearer picture of what she could expect from the blond in the future, should she decide to follow through with pursuing him.

He didn't have a scent lingering on him strong enough to have a lover, the feline Faunus having passed by him close enough multiple times to have picked up on such a thing. Instead, the only scent she could pick up wafting from him was the heavy smell of iron, a rather exotic smelling flower and something else she couldn't quite place.

Leaning up from her prone position, Blake quickly gathered up her things and motioned to follow after her target after making sure she allowed him enough of a head start to keep her out of his line of sight.

Pausing by the doorway leading into the hallway Jaune had departed down, she could have sworn she felt a pair of eyes burning a hole into her back. Glancing backwards towards where she had been resting, she was unable to discern where the feeling was originating, causing her to eventually give up on discovering the source and instead focusing on keeping up with her chosen target.

Should she have waited just another moment, she would have seen a pair of haunted, silver eyes staring at her from where her target had been resting the night before.


	4. Day of the Hunt

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 4, Day of the Hunt_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

I am aware that in Canon, Jaune has seven sisters. Due to his father passing away early in Jaune's life, his mother did not become pregnant with the youngest daughter, thus reducing the siblings by one. For every alteration to his past I make, there have to be _some_ consequences to reflect as such.

Let's see if anyone can guess where part's of Jaune's fighting style is drawn from.

 **[RD]**

"Oh, OH! We could use a _sloth_ call to find each other!" An exuberant redhead called out as Jaune passed by her locker on the way to his own, her words directed towards her green clad companion who was currently studying his weapons with keen eyes.

"Nora... I don't think I know what a sloth call sounds like." Her partner answered back in a tired voice, his pink eyes having drawn in slightly as he wracked his mind to see if he actually knew what a sloth sounded like.

His answer clearly showed he did not, but his partner, Nora, seemed to take his ignorance in stride and proceeded to demonstrate for him, loudly, the glory that was the sloth call.

Jaune tuned the two out as best he could as he continued to pass by the busy students on the way to their own lockers, his mind wandering to the night prior and the two daughters of Summer Rose that he had stumbled upon. While he had wanted to reach out to them years prior, his mother had advised against it due to his inability to meet them face to face at the time. Instead, he had thrown himself into training with his grandfather and later, his eldest sister upon her return from Beacon.

In hindsight, perhaps he _should_ have reached out to the daughters of Summer against the behest of his mother, but it seemed Fate was willing to throw him a bone and allowed their paths to cross naturally.

He had missed them both in the cafeteria, though he _could_ have been a bit preoccupied in devouring a few granola bars to hold him over until it was time for the evening meals served after the test. Due to the nature of Beacons Initiation, Jaune had broken his habit of skipping breakfast for once, even if for a small pick-me-up.

From the corner of his eyes, Jaune noticed the targets of his thoughts both slink into view as they seemed to make a beeline directly for him, the elder blond going as far as pushing a tall, broad shouldered student out of the way completely without glancing in his direction. The student in question slammed into an open locker, which proceeded to shut from the force of his entrance.

"Good morniiiing, Jaune!" Yang greeted almost exuberantly as she flashed Jaune a million megawatt grin, "You didn't wait for us to wake up, I was going to ask if you wanted to team upbut forgot to last night!"

The last portion of her words were spoken a bit lower than her greeting, just loud enough for herself, Ruby and Jaune to hear as the two sisters came to a halt before him.

"I was just about to ask the same thing!" Ruby was almost vibrating in place as she said this, her face whipping to face Jaune before she gave him a smile much like Yang's, "You'll team up with us, right?! Come on, we'll all be like _Whapow, kichah!_ "

Ruby proceeded to hop onto one leg before demonstrating a snap kick that would have sooner broken her ankle than done any damage to whatever was on the receiving end, causing Jaune and Yang to snort in amusement at the action.

He had already intended on asking them if they wished to team up as well, so having both pose the question before he could pleased him greatly. Jaune would be lying if he said he wasn't already slightly fond of both Ruby and Yang, especially considering who helped raise them. He had promised himself the night prior he would do his best to look out for both of them to the best of his abilities, as he knew it's something Summer would have asked of him anyway.

"Sure, there's plenty of room here on Team Jaune." The blond nodded before crossing his arms, "We now have three members, you know what that means?"

"What?" Ruby questioned excitedly as she bounced up to Jaune's side while staring upwards at him, having to crane her neck backwards to do so.

Something about the gleam in Ruby's eyes set him slightly on edge, the shine almost familiar to him. He leaned back a bit to put a bit more space between the two, though he disguised it as him simply stretching his back out.

"We're just one member shy of a full house." Jaune gestured behind him before turning on his heel and marching in the direction he was originally heading in, Ruby quickly falling in step with him while Yang followed behind them, "Do you think Pyrrha might be interested in joining us as well?"

"Eh, I think she's actually getting recruited as we speak." Yang spoke up while jabbing her thumb to the left a few rows down from where they were standing, where Pyrrha was speaking what appeared to be amicably with the silver haired teenager that had a problem with Ruby.

"Well, there goes that idea... I guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go." Jaune murmured thoughtfully as he finally found his locker.

Approaching the large, rocket powered storage unit, the blond flashed his Scroll and forced the locker to swing open and reveal his stash of weaponry and armor.

"Wow, are you a ninja or something?" Ruby questioned loudly as she leaned forward to stare at the rows of throwing knives in the shape of kunai lining the left side of his locker.

"Er, not quite, Ruby," Jaune laughed sheepishly as he removed his cloak for a moment to hang it within the locker before pulling his golden and white cuirass, greaves and vambraces into position over his chest, legs and wrists, "I was just trained by one for a few years."

The familiar weight of his fathers armor and blade settled his nerves greatly, as did the pouch of assorted gadgets and Dust vials he strapped to the brown belt crossing over the hem of his shirt. Nothing spelled prepared like explosives, flash bombs and smoke screens, after all, and Jaune certainly felt prepared as he went over his gear one final time.

"Wait, really?" Yang leaned against the locker next to his to get a better look at the contents as well, whistling lowly in appreciation upon seeing the large stash of knives, metal wire, raw Dust and what appeared to be crimson vials of... some form of liquid.

"My Grandfather, despite being one legged, blinded and bitter, taught me a good bit of what I know about fighting, armed and unarmed." Jaune wasn't quite sure why he was admitting such things freely, but he chalked it up as the kindred bond he felt with the two children of Summer.

He was just as open, if not more so, with his sisters and mother, so he wasn't surprised that he felt comfortable enough around the two to relax his guard even the slightest bit.

"So, you're a ninja, but you decided that you wanted to change classes midway through leveling?" Ruby tilted her head slightly before the bright smile on her face returned, "That's so cool! I want to learn how to be a ninja!"

"Hmm, I don't know, you're awfully loud to be a ninja, Rubes." Yang teased as she took a step back and allowed Jaune to close his locker, "Maybe _I'd_ make a better ninja."

"Pfft, you wish! You're like, a bajillion times louder than I am!" Ruby retorted hotly, spinning on her heel to point at Yang accusingly, "You can't even sneak into the bathroom at night without the entire house hearing you bang your elbows on every corner!"

"Hey, it's not my fault I have long arms!" Yang crossed said arms over her chest before turning her head away from Ruby as if offended by her words, "You're one to talk with your knobby knees, our poor tables can't take your abuse anymore!"

"Girls, we should probably save this discussion for later, they are about to tell us to head to the-" Jaune was cut off by the sound of the intercom blaring to life above him, the aura being constantly circulated through his ears allowing him to pick up the high pitched whine before the voice of Glynda Goodwitch called them all to attention.

The announcement was short lived, of course, leaving Jaune, Ruby and Yang to finish preparing themselves quickly before making their way out the back exit of the locker room and to where the Headmaster and his deputy Headmistress were waiting.

 **[RD]**

Yang and Ruby had ended their small bout of bickering as soon as they exited the locker room, instead allowing the group of three to fall into an amicable silence as they traversed the now slightly uneven terrain closer to the cliff sides. There had been quite a few different markers present among the patch of trees just outside of the locker rooms, some with names etched upon their surfaces while others bore strips of cloth or wreaths of long dead flowers.

Jaune knew what they were immediately and gave a silent prayer to the Brothers for mercy on their souls, his face gaining a solemn frown as he memorized as many names as he could.

He didn't recognize a single one, of course, but at one point, they had been fellow aspiring men and women wishing to train in the same profession Jaune himself found himself aspiring towards.

It served, too, as a warning of what was to come within the next few minutes, causing Jaune to tense slightly in preparation. He noticed Yang and Ruby, too, had tensed upon seeing the monuments to the dead would-be students to take Initiation before them, their expressions more subdued than before, but none the less still optimistic.

He wished he could put on even the slightest of smiles at the moment, instead feeling as if the weight of the world was slowly creeping down upon him. A deep breath dispelled any trepidation he felt, as did the soothing feeling of his dense ocean of Aura swelling up in response to his heightened emotional state.

The three kept to themselves as they approached the line of students already present before Ozpin and Glynda, both authority figures standing at ease while the teenagers and young adults before them stood rigid. It was a stark contrast, to be certain, to see the gray haired man so calm after seeing such a turbulent expression upon his face the day prior. Perhaps whatever was ailing him at the moment had passed, or subsided enough for his attention to be brought back to where it should have been.

Jaune was cut off from his musings as the Headmaster began speaking, drawing the attention of the many people, Human and Faunus alike, towards the two adults seeing over the exam.

"For years, you all have trained tooth and nail to become warriors. Today, these abilities of yours will be tested in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin began, the disinterest in his eyes glaringly obvious, though their was a smidgen of amusement in his voice.

If not for the stern eyes of Glynda Goodwitch behind him, Jaune doubted anyone would take the aloof man nearly as seriously as they did. It did well to have such a hard-ass for an enforcer, it seemed.

The riding crop wielding blond took his silence as her queue and began to speak, her tone leaving no choice but to listen. "Now, I'm sure some of you have heard... _Rumors_ , about the assignment of teams."

The way she said rumors made Jaune believe she hated them with a passion. He didn't, as rumors usually could be considered leads to those who knew how to listen. Her strangely shaded green eyes pierced across the small distance between herself and the white cloaked knight as she said this, causing him to tense slightly before he forced himself to relax.

"Allow me to put an end to any confusion you might have. Each of you will be given teammates... _Today."_ Glynda felt the need to emphasize her words with her riding crop, drawing a small smile from Ruby, who was still within Jaune's peripheral vision, for a reason Jaune felt he didn't want to know.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued her words without skipping a beat, almost as if the two were playing good cop, bad cop with the students before them.

Glancing downwards at the launching platform beneath his feet and then back at the forest before him, vast in distance and green in scope, he felt they were both the bad cops.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with _after_ landing will be your partner... for the next, four, years." Ozpin paused to take a sip from his mug, pulling it away from his face before his lips curled upwards while he nodded his head in appreciation.

Jaune watched the man mouth 'not bad' before he took his time with a second long draft of his beverage, once more causing him to question the man slightly about his inability to take the situation as seriously as his female counterpart was.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern most end of the forest. You will meet _opposition_ along the way so do not hesitate to dodge, or kill, everything in your path or you _will_ die. Or wish you had."

Ozpin sighed heavily, seeing that his words did not seem to be sinking in as well as he wished they had. He coughed lightly and then continued on with his speech, warning the students that despite being monitored, the instructors of Beacon will not intervene to save their lives.

"You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Retrieve one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there... any questions?"

"Yes, just one, Sir... how much weight can these platforms support?" Jaune rose his hand before posing the question, not bothering to wait on being called upon.

"Two thousand pounds, give or take." Ozpin seemed amused by the oddly specific question, especially when Jaune reached out and grabbed Ruby and Yang before dragging them both onto his platform, sandwiching himself in between either of the two.

"Any more questions?" The grey haired man questioned, ignoring the incredulous looks being sent his way by his deputy Headmistress, Glynda.

"Can they do that?" Came the excited voice of the orange haired figure making sloth calls from down the line, causing Ozpin to shrug his shoulders as his only response. There was a quick shuffling afterwards as the Schnee heiress jumped onto Pyrrha's platform while the orange haired female who posed the question leaped onto her green-clad companions.

Ozpin seemed to wait for any further questions before raising his mug as if to say 'Let's get this show on the road'.

" _Very good."_ The Headmaster seemed pleased by the silence, unused to having such a quiet crowd. He might actually like this years students.

One by one, the students were launched from the platform until only Jaune, Ruby, Yang and the black haired female that he remembered having falling onto his shoulder on the airship ride to Beacon remained standing.

"This might have been a terrible mistake, now that I think about it." Jaune piped up as he watched a massive Nevermore enter the airspace he and the two on his platform were about to occupy, its shrill call ringing out over the canopy of the Emerald Forest.

"This idea was _perfect_ , Jaune! Now we can be partners for sure!" Ruby countered his words with encouragement, one of her arms attempting to snake around his before she was interrupted by the mechanism below them.

The three were promptly launched before Jaune could attempt to convince the Headmaster to perhaps wait until the Nevermore had flown a bit further away before launching him into the forest, leaving Blake as the last student to be catapulted into the forest.

Ozpin sighed heavily before reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he did so upon hearing a desperate cry of 'Birdie NO!' disseminate from the aerospace of Ruby Rose.

"I have a feeling that one is going to be worse than her mother, and that concerns me _greatly_." The Headmaster said to no one in particular, though Glynda took it upon herself to respond anyway.

"I tried telling you, but no one listens to me. I honestly don't know why I bother."

 **[PL]**

The sound of rustling fabric, gun fire and screams of both fear and excitement filled the air around Jaune, Ruby and Yang as they soared through the skies. Due to having pushed Aura into his legs before using his Semblance to amplify the intensity of its release, Jaune had flown far quicker than either of the two sisters he planned on teaming up with, leaving him to encounter the Nevermore before Yang or Ruby.

The fowl beast seemed to have picked him as its next target and flew low before circling around and lining itself up to allow Jaune to fly directly into its waiting mouth, leaving him to curse his abysmal luck for the umpteenth time in his life.

Finding his options as limited as the time he had to take action, the blond knight withdrew the blade of Crocea Mors from its shield-sheath before pushing as much of his Aura into the weapon as he knew it could take. A pale white sheen danced across the silverish blade, only to grow in intensity until the silver of his blade could no longer be made out. What was once a blade only three foot in length and perhaps a few inches thick nearest to the base had instead become the size of a claymore with a blade far more suited for large opponents than a short sword.

Aura Sharpening was one of the first techniques his grandfather had taught him after awakening his Aura two years into their training, forcing Jaune to learn how to turn a dull branch fresh from the tree into a deadly weapon capable of slicing. Crocea Mors, of course, had been forged with alloys that were far more receptive to being infused with Aura, created and wielded during a time when it needed to be trained against Human, Faunus and Grimm alike.

His fathers journal had entries that spoke of his great grandfather cleaving a Goliath in two using the same type of technique, though there were clear differences between what Jaune was doing and what Jeremiah had done.

Preparing himself as best he could, the blond tensed the muscles in his arm and angled his shining blade as best he could before swinging the heavily reinforced weapon vertically through the throat, sinew and bone of the massive creature impeding his path. The forward momentum generated by the springing platform was more than enough to enhance the cutting power behind the Aura enhanced blade, otherwise Jaune _highly_ doubted his ability to cut a Nevermore from the sky.

Semblance or no, the blond had limits on just how far he could amplify his strength through his Aura, as did his weapon.

Due to the positioning of the corvian Grimm before him, Jaune was forced to keep pumping more and more Aura into his blade to continue cutting his way through, not wanting to be slammed in between to slabs of dissolving Grimm and pulled into the forest below with the assuredly dead beast.

After what seemed like hours while in reality only lasted seconds, the blond knight cut the flow of Aura to his weapon as he cleaved the Grimm in twain before replacing the silver short sword to its sheath. Ruby's cry of 'Birdie No!' caused him to glance back in confusion, only to watch as both Yang and Ruby slammed into either half of the now dead and descending Nevermore, halting their forward momentum completely while knocking them off their projected path.

'Of course you had to throw my hopes into the fire.' Jaune directed his thoughts towards Fate once more, feeling that somehow, the omniscient concept of predetermined destiny was responsible for his plight once more.

Knowing that his chances of getting either Ruby or Yang as his partner had now dwindled to nearly the single digits as far as percentiles went, Jaune angled his body downwards and brought his arms and legs in line as close as he could. The change in his positioning changed his estimated path as well, forcing him to descend into the treeline of the Emerald Forest and through the canopy far sooner than quite a few of the other students still soaring through the skies. Pulling the sheath of Crocea Mors from his waist, Jaune allowed the scabbard of his blade to transform into a heater shield before gripping it tightly with both hands.

Placing the heater shield before his body, the blond knight allowed his Aura to soak into the protective half of his weapon and reinforce its defensive capabilities further than before, the Arc family crest upon it barely visible through the gleam of white.

Despite being some of the last students launched, Jaune had a feeling he was one of the first to descend into the forest proper, easily skirting past the tops of the trees before landing heavily upon one of the thicker branches he spotted on the way down.

The branch of the tree he found himself deposited on barely held under the transference of momentum from his falling body into the wood below him, though the thick growth held strong despite his fears.

Taking a moment to gather his wits, the slightly lanky teenager tried to shake off the feeling of slight Aura depletion, having quickly burned through an eighth of his reserves by reinforcing both his sword and shield within the last few minutes.

Heaving a sigh as he jumped to the ground, he withdrew his blade once more and allowed his Aura to focus towards the tip before amplifying it beyond its normal strength. This had the effect of causing it to gleam brightly in the darkness and act like a torch he could use to light his way through the gloom.

With his weapon in hand and his path illuminated, Jaune began his trek southbound instead of heading directly towards his objective, having every intention on making sure Yang and Ruby were on the same team as him.

He was expecting quite a few things within the underbrush of the Emerald Forest, but he _wasn't_ expecting to stumble across, or rather into, another student just moments after landing himself. Upon reaching out with his free hand to brush the branches of a rather large bush from his path, the same figure that stood to his far right during the launching sequence stepped forward and locked her amber gaze with his.

"Oh, I... wasn't expecting to see someone so soon." Jaune tried his best to hide the disappointment he felt upon being partnered with a complete stranger, though it was obvious his new 'Partner' easily picked up on it.

"I wasn't either, but... rules are rules." The black haired female sighed in apparent disappointment as well before stepping forward a bit, her weapon lowering slightly as she extended her free hand, "Blake Belladonna."

"Jaune Arc, nice to meet you. Would you be too bothered if we doubled back for the blond and the redhead I sort of knocked out of the sky?" Jaune took the offered hand and gave her a firm shake before nodding in the direction she had just came from, "I sort of promised them I'd team up with them, and I would really, _really_ hate to be forced to rescind my word."

Pursing her lips slightly, Blake eventually nodded before spinning on her heel and proceeding back into the thick underbrush, gesturing for Jaune to follow after her. He couldn't help but allow his eyes to trail perhaps a bit lower than they should have, the sway of her hips pronounced as she strode through the forest like it was her home.

"Well, at least she's easy on the eyes." Jaune felt his brows raise slightly before he tore his gaze away from Blake's behind, instead doing his best to focus on the illuminated sections of the gloomy forest to keep an eye out for any ground dwelling Grimm.

"I could say the same about you, handsome." Blake called out over her shoulders before turning and locking eyes with him before smirking.

Jaune stammered and attempted to say something, anything, but all that came out was a strangled wheeze. "I... uh, didn't think you'd hear that."

"You'd be surprised at the things I can hear, Jaune." The way she lilted her words made them sound sweet, but to Jaune, they sounded like warning sirens.

Swallowing heavily the second time in just as many hours, the blond knight nodded numbly before Blake returned her attention southward and continued towards where Yang and Ruby had descended into the Emerald Forest. Waiting for Blake to put a few more paces between them, Jaune fell in step with the black haired teenager while cursing himself under his breath for his careless habit of speaking his thoughts when he assumed no one could hear him.


	5. Red and Yellow, Kill a Fellow

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 5, Red and Yellow, Kill a fellow_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[RD]**

Blake and Jaune were silent for a few moments as they steadily made their way south, the blond not feeling the need to immediately speak as they made off towards the objective Jaune had given the two. The smell of the forest did much to calm the nerves of the white clad knight, having grown up amongst groves of trees that made the Emerald Forest look like new growth, though his companion seemed to jump at every shadow that moved so much as an inch in her general direction, or his.

The black haired female seemed to take her self imposed role as forward scout seriously, though Jaune felt that she was perhaps on edge from being in an unfamiliar location. Give it time and he was confident she would find her home among the trees as well.

She sent him fleeting glances every so often, almost as if to make sure he wouldn't stick a knife in her back. From the way she continued to finger the hilt of her weapon over her shoulder, Jaune could tell that she was getting particularly antsy.

He couldn't blame her, especially with the foreboding memorials just before the cliffs they had been launched from, or the ominous words of the Headmaster. His eldest sister had told him all of what he could expect from the forest, even giving him a map that would lead him to her hideaway she built in her third year at Beacon. While he doubted he had time to visit the hideaway at the moment, he _did_ use what little topographical information he could purview from the map to get a better read on where he was within the forest.

It was only when Jaune crouched down to stare at what appeared to be a pair of Beowulf tracks some five minutes into their rather quick walking that Blake eventually spoke.

"You aren't much of a talker, are you?" The black haired female questioned as she glanced over his shoulder, watching as he carefully brushed away the leaves covering the rather fresh prints before standing. Tearing her amber gaze away from his back quickly, Blake instead focused her gaze on the treeline and away from his face as he turned towards her.

"Sorry, usually I'm sort of a chatterbox, just have a lot on my mind right now." Jaune didn't miss a beat in supplying an answer, though his tone was at least more amicable than it had been prior, "Why, did you want to talk as we go?"

"We don't have to if you'd prefer to think, it doesn't matter to me." Blake was not exactly quick to dismiss his offer, instead settling on an answer that would make him wish to speak on his own.

"Well, what would you like to talk about then, partner?" Jaune kept his sight focused on anything that stuck out to him as odd, though he had yet to catch a glimpse of any Grimm so far.

Despite how open ended the question was, Jaune hoped against hope that Blake wouldn't bring up anything too personal. She seemed rather easy to get along with, but he had judged wrong a few times before.

The blond rose from his crouched position and held his sword high once more, basking the small path the two were steadily creating with bright white light. Despite how bright the small flare of Aura was, its drain on his reserves was minimal at best, his recovery rate easily bypassing what it consumed.

"Hmm... tell me about yourself." His black and white clad companion seemed to ponder the subject for a few seconds before choosing a topic she was curious about, "I'm curious about who I've been partnered with for the next four years."

"You want to talk about _me_?" Jaune questioned with a twinge of curiosity bleeding into his voice, "Sure, but only if you don't mind answering a few questions of mine as well. Fair is fair, right?"

"Fair is fair." Blake agreed, stepping over a rather large branch that had fallen on what appeared to be a large bottle brush bush, it's crimson bloom peaking out from beneath the rotting bark.

Her blond companion paused for a moment to examine the beautiful plant before rolling the large branch from atop the plant before continuing after Blake, the feline Faunus not bothering to pause and wait. She doubted he would appreciate her giving into the desire to stare, so she did her best to keep her eyes anywhere else than where she wished them to be. It was hard to focus with the newest object of her attention being so close, but Blake knew that it would take slow, cautious baby steps to reel him into her garden of earthly desires.

This was a game she could play with ease now that she had experience in the art of love, her opponents apparent lack of experience in her particular brand of warfare leaving him all that much more vulnerable to her dark wiles.

"Where to start..." The blond knight reached up and scratched his hairless chin with his left hand, his shield still in its sheath form upon his hip thus leaving the appendage free, "Well, my name is Jaune Arc, I'm seventeen going on eighteen in a few months and I enjoy gardening in my free time."

The sound of a snapping twig caused both to snap their gazes to the left while halting their forward progress all together, though another minute of silence allowed the two to continue forward once more. Their conversation picked up as soon as both relaxed a bit when no student or Grimm showed themselves.

"A good start," Blake allowed with a small grin, though he only knew it was there from how she enunciated her words due to his position behind her as the two pushed on, "I'm Blake Belladonna. I recently turned seventeen, and I rather enjoy curling up somewhere warm with a good novel."

"Oh? I... don't laugh, but I only really read comics and old history books when I feel like 'expanding my horizons', as my older sister likes to say." The white cloaked knight eventually admitted, his voice slightly more sheepish than before, "I take the saying 'Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it' way more seriously than I should, maybe."

"That is a good saying to remember, if any." Blake paused for a moment to glance around, trying to spot any indication of recent foot traffic through the underbrush, though she found nothing, "Just what are you doing, anyway? I've heard of large reserves, but surely that is causing a drain, yes?"

His bright flare of light contained to the tip of Crocea Mors, while basking the area around them in brilliant light that chased away the shadows easily, was as much a weapon at the ready as it was a tool used to illuminate his way. The amount of Aura he had pushed into the tip of his blade had been miniscule at best, but some twenty minutes of using his Semblance to steadily amplify the small spark had generated enough energy and light to refill what he lost slaying the Nevermore, should he reabsorb it into his body.

He had a hard time admitting that it ran the risk of attracting any stray Grimm in the region should he push too much of his energy into the weapon. The amount he had used against the Nevermore had been more than enough to disturb the beasts and let them know of his presence, despite most being some twenty to forty feet below him in height at that point.

The Grimm had displayed time and time again that they could track him by his presence alone, should he not do his best to restrain it at almost all points. Three years of constantly using his Semblance to amplify not only the amount of Aura his body could handle and generate, but the density of said Aura made him a practical Grimm magnet, a rather large drawback to being able to toss around the energy born from his soul like it was going out of style.

Jaune had learned after three years that having Aura reserves larger than those thrice his age wasn't quite as good as it sounded. Due to being unable to control the output of his Aura for nearly a year after having the potent energy was awakened and his Semblance discovered, he had been restrained to the confines of the Arc Compound on the outskirts of Amarila and trained until he was no longer a liability to the entire village.

The first horde of Grimm throwing themselves at him almost out of the blue had put the fear of the Brothers in him once again, and it was only the timely interference of Maria that spared Jaune the fate that awaited him at the jowls of a Beowulf.

The eldest of the Arc Siblings hadn't chided him for his lapse of judgment, the younger blond having left his weapon in his room to take a quick stroll into the village proper only to be beset by the blood hungry beasts, but he felt she should have. It was now nothing more than a memory, but the sting of one of his more recent near death experiences remained to remind him of the risks his Aura and Semblance brought along with their benefits.

"It... has to do with my Semblance, which I'll explain later." Jaune didn't further elaborate, instead posing a different question to try and change the subject a bit, still debating on how he would go about explaining what he was doing and how he was doing it, "I didn't force you out of the sky with the Nevermore as well, did I?"

Blake pursed her lips in thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, though she did follow it up a few seconds later. "Not quite, but I _would_ have hit it if I didn't land early on my own accord. Something about uncontrolled flight through the air doesn't agree with me."

"Ah, good." The white cloaked blond pulled at his hood awkwardly as the two almost lapsed into silence once more from his own inability to think of what to say when it mattered most, "I'm not fond of flying in the least either, so that's another thing we can bond over, I suppose?"

That's what teammates were supposed to do, partners especially. Bonding between partners was totally normal and didn't sound like he was attempting to flirt, or so he told himself as he almost retracted his words as soon as they left his mouth.

"Bond, hm?" Blake enunciated slowly while turning to glance at him with a tilted brow, "I... suppose we could do that, eventually."

While she appeared apathetic on the surface, the black haired Faunus was giddy at just how easy it was to fluster the blond. Adam had _never_ been quite so expressive with his emotions, despite just how guarded Jaune appeared on the surface. His sputtering was just too cute.

His eyes displayed almost everything he felt inside like floodlights in the night to her, whereas Adam hid his bloodthirsty gaze behind a beautiful mask of white and red. While there was still some lingering disappointment, her new partners mood had returned to somewhat cheerful territories if the crinkle of his eyes were any indication, leaving Blake content with her successful second 'first impression'.

They had to pass over a rather large ridge before Jaune began to get a feel for where he was, capable of pointing out three different landmarks that his sister had mentioned by scanning the canopy from their elevated position. By his estimates, the two were about three miles south of their objective, a distance that would take at least an hour or two to cover if they didn't make haste.

"We should be reaching them soon, I know for a fact we made it north of the river before we ran a-fowl of that Nevermore." Jaune tried to make a joke after a few moments of further silence, only to hear a bark of laughter from beyond the bushes he and Blake were about to pass through.

The blond perked up instantly, having recognized both the laugh he just heard and the exasperated groan that followed it.

"That Nevermore had a fowl attitude, I'm glad you took it out." Yang fired back as she sauntered into view with Ruby groaning and holding her head just behind her, "Though what I really want to know _how_ you did that, because that looked like it came straight from a movie!"

Jaune quickly gave the two a quick glance over for injuries, finding almost nothing to show they fell into the forest abruptly than a tear in the hem of Ruby's 'Combat Skirt' and the twig sticking out of the redhead's hair. Yang seemed to be in close to pristine condition, however, leaving Jaune to theorize that she had been a bit quicker to recover in the air than her younger sister.

"I wasn't about to let it have a free meal, it was going to have to earn it!" Jaune laughed at the betrayed look Ruby flashed him before it was gone as quickly as it came, the red-clad teenager quickly invading his personal space before throwing her arms around his waist.

"I will pay you with cookies if you stop encouraging her terrible puns, Jaune." Ruby spoke through the fabric of his turtleneck covering his stomach region, being not quite tall enough to place her face against his cuirass quite yet.

Jaune opened his mouth to speak before closing it, anything he felt the need to say dying as he actually considered the offer before taking it. "Ten cookies and you have a deal."

"That's _outrageous!_ Who has that kind of cookie dough to just spend on bribes?!" Ruby questioned hotly as she begrudgingly released Jaune, her brows furrowed while her lips puckered into a pout. "Seven cookies or no deal."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep encouraging her bad puns until you pay up." Jaune shrugged, enjoying having someone akin to a little sister around once more perhaps a bit too much, "Girls, this is Blake Belladonna, my partner. Blake, this is Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, the daughters of my Aunt Summer."

"You know you're a lucky woman, right?" Yang questioned Blake with a tilted brow, placing one hand on her hip before extending the other for the black haired female to take, "I like your hair, by the way, you obviously take care of it pretty well."

"Thanks, I guess?" Blake questioned as she took the offered hand of Yang, only to be surprised at just how harsh her grip was.

Blake couldn't suppress the wince that appeared on her face upon being subjected to Yang's firm grip, which subsided only after a moment more of pressing downward on Blake's hand.

"Sorry, guess I'm just irritated still." The blond made sure she was making eye contact as she said this, a silent message being conveyed between them, "You'll help keep him safe for me, yeah?"

"Believe me, he doesn't have a thing to worry about with me as a partner." Blake felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as she spoke.

It was very clear to the black haired female that both sisters were, indeed, a threat. To what extend, she did not know, but their interest in her target was apparent from the way their gazes continued to flick in his direction, despite facing her.

"Good, glad we're on the same page, then." Yang flashed her a smile that was at least somewhat sincere before gesturing for Jaune to take the lead once more, "Alright, Team Jaune is officially complete. Let's go get us a relic so we can finally get a room, ladies!"

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that, considering the name?" Jaune questioned after a moment, having tried his best to avoid the intense stare down between Yang and Blake.

"You're just the figurehead, Jaune, that way you get blamed for all of my mistakes!"

"You know what... I'm used to it."

 **[RD]**

Pyrrha sighed heavily as she glanced over her shoulder at the rather smug silver haired teenager following closely behind her, doing her best to mask her disappointment and failing tremendously. Despite her disappointment, however, Weiss Schnee, her partner for the next four years, had quickly proven herself a capable fighter by felling three Beowulves nearly instantaneously with a flourish of her blade.

That, at least, went a small ways in securing at least some sentimentality from Pyrrha, as her respect for those who trained diligently demanded it.

They had been traveling for some fifteen, twenty minutes when they encountered their first pair of students. It was their method of travel that had made the two females steer clear of them, however, as one of the two, the orange haired female, decided to use an Ursa Minor as her steed while her green-clad companion rushed behind her with a slightly panicked look on his face.

Weiss, of course, had spent the next fifteen minutes afterwards speaking of how she never would have seen something so ridiculous should she have just joined the Atlesian Military like her eldest sibling.

It had taken a great deal of effort for the redhead to swallow her verbal response to her complaints, wanting nothing more than to ask why she _hadn't_ joined the Military, but decided to place a pleasant smile upon her face and fake it until she came across another familiar figure to speak with besides her partner.

The easy conversations between herself, Yang, Ruby and Jaune came to mind when she thought about whom she would have rather been paired with, any of the three being more appealing than Weiss Schnee in her eyes.

Something the silver haired teenager said caught Pyrrha's attention, causing the hoplite to actually pay attention to the noises fluttering through her ears instead of treating them as if they were a droning engine.

"Naturally, I wanted to be Leader of whatever team I was placed on, but I don't mind if you'd rather have the position, Pyrrha-"

Once more, the redhead went back to tuning Weiss out while keeping her thoughts as pleasant as possible, already dreading the next four years of her life more than she wished to.

 **[RD]**

"And the final pair has been formed. This is..."

"A good year so far. Only four of our six pairs seem to be having issues." Ozpin finished for Glynda, sipping at his hot cocoa without an iota of worry in his gaze.

On the inside, however, he was screaming. It was more than apparent to him how the teams would form based on how quickly the white cloaked figure, Jaune Arc, had gotten his new partner, one Blake Belladonna, to double back for Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. This had been the first time he remembered someone choosing their own team from the get go, none of his previous students quite having the gall to not only admit to having prior knowledge of his test, but acting on said knowledge to benefit themselves.

Should the group of four secure a pair of matching relics, Ozpin had already chosen the team name he would use for the four, a thousand years worth of mental games allowing him to choose an appropriate title nigh instantly.

'A from Arc, L from Long, B from Belladonna, R from Rose... ALBR, Alabaster. Close enough.' The gray haired man mulled silently for a minute before sighing, bringing his attention back to the large Scroll he was watching over Glynda's shoulder.

"Hm, I suppose you are correct. I recall Team CFVY formed from two sets of partners that turned our initiation into a war-game between themselves and what, twenty other students?" Glynda remembered the incident in question with no small amount of fondness, having a soft spot for the team that she wouldn't admit to having in public.

"I try and forget what type of shenanigans I've seen happen in that forest over the years, honestly." Ozpin admitted after a moment, a small frown marring his face as he continued to watch the many different feeds present on Glynda's Scroll. "Like that one pair of lovers who thought Initiation would be a good time to-"

"I _remember_ , Ozpin, I was there." Glynda cut him off with a sigh before reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose like Ozpin was so fond of doing, "Why must you remind me of such foolishness?"

"I don't know, why do you?"

 **[TL]**

"Hmm." Jaune hummed under his breath as the group of four came to a halt in the tree line, scoping the supposed abandoned temple for either other initiates or Grimm before they revealed themselves. Seeing neither, the white cloaked blond waited for Ruby and Blake to give them the all clear before the group stepped from the trees and towards the center of the ruins before them.

"Chess pieces, huh? I should have guessed the Headmaster would stick with what he knows." Jaune commented idly as he took a passing glance around the area before settling on a particular piece on a pedestal near the middle. "Are you fine with the Knight, girls? It's the only pair left, the rest are all missing one or both."

"Whatever you decide," Blake seemed very willing in allowing him to make the choice for them, her focus instead being drawn to the trees and sometimes the sky in the search of Grimm, "I'll follow your lead."

"That's a Knight? It looks like a pony to me." Yang laughed as she caught the golden chess piece tossed her way by Jaune seconds later after he picked up his own, examining it for all of a few seconds before passing it to Ruby for safe keeping.

"It represents the steed of the knight and it's strange movement options, I guess." Jaune honestly wasn't sure why the Knight piece in chess was shaped like a horse, having never questioned the reason despite playing the game quite often with one of his eldest sisters.

Placing the golden Knight piece within a pouch sewn into the inside of his cloak, the blond teen glanced around the clearing for a few more moments, allowing himself and his newly secured teammates to catch their breaths before continuing towards the cliff to complete their Initiation.

With far less trees to block out the sun, other fauna had sprung up around the clearing other than mighty spruce trees, evergreens and oaks. Making his way around to the outside of the ruins, just behind the only remaining wall of the structure, Jaune spotted an arrangement of flowerbeds that caught his attention instantly.

The flower arrangements were oddly familiar to the blond until he remembered where he had seen flowers placed in such a way previously.

"Ruby, Yang, I think these are actually some of Summer's flowers." Jaune called out while fishing his Scroll from his pocket, idly flipping through his photo gallery for all of a few moments before he found the folder he was looking for.

Opening the folder, the blond was able to bring up the correct picture just as Yang and Ruby made it around to where he was standing, Blake having already been standing close by as she watched him wander about.

"I remember she had always had a strong liking towards lilies, particular white lilies that she called 'Stargazers', I think." Jaune began as he showed the two sisters another picture of their mother they had never seen before.

Sitting in a small wooden awning surrounded by pale flowers of all shapes and sizes, Summer Rose and Juniper Lucretia Arc sat and posed for the camera, small smiles on either of their faces while their pale colored eyes danced in delight.

"Lilies, white and dark crimson roses, pink orchids, carnations... this must have been where she spent a lot of time when she needed to get away from her team." Jaune murmured as he glanced up at the wild, overgrown flowerbeds that had been, at one point, lovingly taken care of by one of the most influential women in his life.

Seeing something she worked so hard on in such bad shape caused his stomach to churn unpleasantly and had to fight the urge to get to work in repairing the damage years of neglect had caused.

"Mom..." Ruby whispered under her breath as she stared at the new image until Jaune motioned to put his Scroll away, "Could you send me what pictures you have of mom to me later, Jaune? I'll love you forever if you do."

"You don't even have to ask, I was going to have physical copies made so we can make a book, too." Jaune reached out like he was going to place it upon Ruby's shoulder but seemed to recoil and allowed the appendage to slink beneath his cloak once more a second later.

"Thanks, for showing us." Yang seemed to be a bit choked up as she ran a hand through her golden locks while drawing in a shaky breath, "I thought we had already seen all of the pictures of Summer there were, but I'm... really glad to find out there's way more to see and learn."

Jaune didn't know what to say to comfort the two, feeling foolish for even mentioning the flowers before chastising himself for that as well. Of course he would have told them about flowers their mother had planted during her time at Beacon some twenty years prior, he couldn't have kept something like that to himself without feeling guilty about it.

"Tell you what... we can come back in a few weeks, get some clippings from the roses and see if we can get them rooted, and then maybe start taking care of them ourselves. How's that?" Jaune piped up after a moment of awkward silence, he and Blake shuffling from one foot to another while doing their best to ignore the shroud of sadness that befell the youngest member of their team.

"You mean it?" Ruby snapped her head up and allowed her silver gaze to meet Jaune's, the discomforting gleam returning once more.

Jaune nodded instead of verbally responding, causing Ruby to leap forward to wrap her arms around him once more, though this time her embrace was far tighter than before.

It was only after a moment that Jaune realized that the younger redhead was crying, her sobs being muffled by his turtleneck and stomach easily.

Wrapping one arm around her shoulder sheepishly, Jaune turned to send a questioning glance towards Yang, only for the blond sister of Ruby to shrug and gestured for him to hug her back silently, her lilac eyes curiously focused on the two as she did so.

"As touching as this is, we _do_ have a bit of a time limit..." Blake trailed off, causing Ruby to grumble slightly in annoyance as she pulled away from Jaune's warm embrace and take her position a few feet away once more.

"Ah, sorry, Blake... I always get distracted when I see flowers I recognize." Jaune apologized rather lowly as he rolled his shoulders slightly before turning his attention back towards the tree line. "Well, I guess we start heading back to the cliffs, yeah?"

With murmurs of agreement coming from all three of his new teammates, the group coalesced into a loose formation once more. Just as they were about to make their way towards the edge of the forest, however, they heard what appeared to be approaching Grimm and student alike, causing each to tense and draw their weapons before the source of the noise finally revealed itself.

"This! Is! Awesome!" Came the exuberant voice of Nora Valkyrie, who was riding an Ursa minor with her hammer poised to smash it's skull while holding onto its fur with a free hand, obviously acting as a riding harness. "You have great ideas, Ren! Why didn't you suggest riding an Ursa sooner?!"

"This isn't what I meant, Nora!" Called out a tired male voice before the figure speaking broke through the treeline as well, who seemed malcontent to chase the steed of his partner, "Now please get down from there before you hurt yourself!"

"Since you asked so nicely, just let me put my new friend to sleep!" Nora shouted before whipping her war hammer above her head and bringing it down upon the back of the Ursa's head, ending its life instantly.

The now dissolving body of the Ursa Minor slid to a halt just outside of the outermost ring of stones around the derelict temple, leaving Nora to flip elegantly over its corpse before landing on her feet with either hand in the air. One hand, of course, held her mighty hammer aloft as if it weighed nothing, leaving Jaune to instantly place the orange haired female in the 'Do not mess with' compartment of his brain.

"That was pretty brutal." Jaune commented idly while scratching his chin, "I'd give it an eight out of ten, not enough explosions."


	6. A casual walk in the woods

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 6, A casual walk in the woods_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

ALBR is Alabaster.

SLVN is Sylvan.

 **[RD]**

The orange haired female was in Jaune's face within seconds of his last statement, her electric teal eyes narrowed while her lips were drawn into a thin line. She glanced down and then slowly allowed her gaze to trace his entire body upwards before settling upon his eyes, only to blink owlishly after he refused to back down or blink.

Despite how broad his shoulders were and the heavy cloak that covered most of his form, Nora could tell that he was a beanpole from the slightly gaunt look of his face, his skin drawn tight over his high cheekbones while his jawline was easily pronounced. He lacked any sort of chub to his cheeks, leaving Nora to conclude that puberty must have beaten him over the head rather hard with a bat instead of just a stick like most got hit with.

His hair fell into his right eye a bit while his left was completely exposed, giving him a slightly lazy, if not sort of shy look that she found adorably boyish.

It was the unfaltering glint in his eyes, however, that eventually made the hyperactive hammer wielder take a step back in defeat. He was a scrapper through and through and while Nora would have loved to have a good tussle in the woods with the cute blond, she highly doubted Ren would appreciate her taking up more of his precious time when it could be dedicated to sleeping.

She had already kept him up enough the last week and with the stunt she pulled with the Ursa, it was probably in her best interests to make the rest of Initiation easier on him, lest he replace her morning pancakes with his horrid 'Health' drinks he consumed almost religiously.

'How does something with the name _health_ in it make someone so sick?!' Nora questioned herself in exacerbation before her eyes crossed and she shook her head, 'Wait, I can think about that later, this is important!'

The grin that broke across her face afterwards was as off putting as the gleam that sometimes entered Ruby's eyes, leaving Jaune to think he should have just allowed her the small victory instead.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about, big guy." Nora noted after a moment, the grin on her face growing slightly larger, "Next time, I'll make sure there are explosions for _days_!"

"That sounds... dangerous." Jaune nodded after a moment to reaffirm his words before offering his hand for the orange haired female to take, "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

"Nora Valkyrie, at your service, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora took his hand and shook it vigorously before gesturing over her shoulder with her free hand, "My fine green partner here is Lie Ren, but he prefers to be called Ren. Say hi, Renny!"

With a heavy sigh, the green clad partner of Nora offered what sounded like a grunt of frustration as a greeting instead.

"Eh, close enough," Nora shrugged as if she were nonplussed by Ren's indifference, "He's just being shy, I'm sure he'll warm up to you eventually!"

"Nora, is now _really_ the time...?" Ren trailed off before turning his attention to the four other students outside of his partner gathered near the ruins, "I apologize ahead of time for anything and everything Nora might do or say."

"Awww, that's how you know he loves me!" Nora, once more, was not offended by her partners words, instead finding them endearing. "Such a sweetheart! Not as sweet as the special syrup he makes me, but he tries and that's alllll that matters."

"It's no problem, I have to do the same for Ruby sometimes." Yang addressed Ren's concerns easily before laughing lightly at the betrayed look on Ruby's face, enjoying being able to torment her little sister even during something as serious as Beacon's Initiation. "She can be pretty... excitable."

"Am not!" Ruby defended herself while stomping her foot in frustration, "You're the one I have to apologize for! Like last week, what you did to that poor bartende-"

Anything Ruby was about to say was cut off by Yang, who glanced around at the others quickly before offering an awkward laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about, _Ruby_. Maybe it was about the time you had a restrai-"

Yang, too, was cut off as Ruby shot her right hand up to clamp it over the mouth of her elder sister, her silver eyes widening slightly while darting in Jaune's direction quickly before she averted her gaze.

"Mphg- You're just making stuff up now, _Yang._ " Ruby spoke through clenched teeth, a forced smile on her face all the while.

Ignoring the strange behavior of the two nervous looking sisters, Jaune glanced over the shoulders of Ren and Nora towards the direction they came and watched carefully as the bushes and trees seemed to quake slightly before settling once more. He wasn't the only one to catch the strange movement of the fauna, Blake tilting her head slightly as her eyes narrowed into thin slits.

Her hand traveled to her weapon a second later, letting Jaune know that he wasn't the only one to notice the odd twitching of the bushes. His right hand come to rest on the pommel of Crocea Mors as well, his body tensing slightly at the prospect of finally having to fight.

What he did to the Nevermore hardly constituted as a fight, the momentum from his launch contributing almost all of the cutting potential needed to bisect such a large opponent. On the ground, things wouldn't go quite as smoothly for him and he knew as such.

"Guys, we might have company." Jaune noted after catching a glimpse of burning crimson through the trees, Amplifying his vision just long enough to peer through the darkness before allowing his Aura to settle once more. "Yep, that's a Grimm alright."

"I don't want to seem rude, but perhaps it would be best if we started moving along, then." Ren calmly noted while allowing either of his weapons to fall from the sleeves of his green coat, the long blades of his small sub-machine guns extending as his weapon was readied for combat once more.

Nora looked like she wanted to protest, but the sound of rustling leaves and trees being shoved to the side forcefully drew the attention of the rest of the six would-be students quickly.

"Oh, well... I forgot all about _them_." Nora laughed as she saw the first Grimm enter the clearing from the treeline, a harrowed looking Ursa-Major followed by what appeared to be multiple Ursa-Minor, "Sorry, I don't think your friend is coming home any more!"

"That's a lot of Ursa!" Jaune exclaimed upon seeing just how large the pack of bear shaped Grimm that continued to pour from the treeline was, the crowd of glowing, crimson eyes continuing to grow in size.

"Yes, it is. Now is the part where we run." Blake intoned while grabbing onto Jaune's shoulder before pushing him gently forward, "Talk later."

"I'm with Blake, as much as I love a good fight, that's too much." Yang seemed serious for once, the jovial gleam in her eyes fading quickly as she glanced at the crowd of angry Grimm grow larger. Falling in step with the other three members comprising her team without further glib, the blond wasted little time in making her way to the side of the clearing opposite of the Grimm.

Nora and Ren followed closely behind the four as they booked it towards the south with as much pep in their step as they could afford, the orange haired female dropping what appeared to be grenades charged with violet colored Dust as she ran.

Soon, what sounded like powerful explosions rocked the earth and trees behind them, sending debris and random shrapnel in the direction of the running teenagers and peppering their backs with dirt and wood chips.

"How's that for explosions, Jauney-boy?"

"Still not enough, they're gaining on us now!"

 **[RD]**

The six had been running and fighting for close to forty five minutes in order to reach the cliffs they were launched from, never stopping long enough to even catch their breaths despite the heavy pace they had set.

Things had nearly gotten dicey when Ruby's cloak wrapped itself around a rather thick stub of a branch poking out from an oak, the wooden appendage being strong enough to prevent Ruby from tugging the cloth free quickly. Jaune had stopped upon seeing the youngest member of his mostly chosen team get stuck, his shield intercepting the massive paw of an Ursa-Minor before his blade relieved the beast of its life in return.

Using his broad stature to shield the younger female from view, the blond did his best to keep the Grimm closest to the front of their pack from taking a bite out of either of the two teenagers now at the back of the group.

Yang was there to help Ruby free herself in a seconds notice while Blake took point with Jaune to thin the growing herd from breaching the hastily formed wall he created out of his body and shield.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby yelled out as she finally freed her cloak from the reaching branch of the old oak, Crescent Rose being with a flourish as she fired off two shots over the shoulder of Jaune.

"You're good, Ruby! Let's go!" Jaune shouted as he intercepted another heavy blow from one of the Grimm targeting the group of six before staggering into a run once more.

"They're gaining on us!" Yang shouted as she glared over her shoulder at the still growing crowd of Grimm, taking note of the few scattered Beowulves and what appeared to be a Boarbatusk mingling with the mass of Ursa that Nora had upset.

Jaune bit his lip as he stole a glance over his shoulder as well, the nearest Grimm being almost less than an arms length away from his back. From how quickly the beast seemed to be edging away that small gap, the blond estimated it would be another five minutes before they were overrun completely.

'Damnit! If I use my Semblance, it will just attract more attention, but if I don't, we'll be swarmed!' Jaune cursed loudly as he turned his gaze forward once more before calling out to get the attention of the five others running with him.

"I have a way we can outrun them, but it's going to feel weird! Is that alright with everyone?" Jaune questioned over the sound of roaring Grimm and beating footfalls.

His words seemed to have reached their intended targets, however, because he received affirmatives from each in different fashions.

"Do it." Blake, of course, was the only one capable of making her raised voice still sound monotone, the rest grunting, groaning or nodding in response.

In Nora's case, it was more like a war cry mixed with a strangled groan, but Jaune could still decipher the affirmation none the less.

Taking a deep breath while calling upon his Aura, Jaune recalled the feeling of spreading himself out, so to speak, and allowed the large stores of his energy produced by the soul to wash over his fellow to-be students slowly. It was difficult to latch on to so many different moving targets with such varying levels of Aura in both size and intensity, but after a solid minute of concentrating and running, the bonds took hold.

Six flashes of white danced across the floors of the Emerald Forest, each emanating from the six students being targeted by Jaune's Semblance. The effect was immediate once the bond between himself and those around him solidified, the sluggish rate at which they had started to run reverting to a full out sprint.

"What the heck is this?!" Ruby shouted her question over her shoulder, though she seemed too focused on keeping ahead of the group to turn and stare at him like Blake was currently doing, "It feels so..."

Whatever Ruby was going to say was cut off as she skillfully slid beneath an overhanging branch that the rest had to leap over, though the message could be inferred easily.

Jaune kept silent, however, as he focused as best he could on restraining the effects of his Semblance to levels that wouldn't cause any strain on their bodies. Aura Toxicity was a terrible thing to experience, though extremely few have suffered from such a thing throughout the many years Humans and Faunus have recorded their history and medical records.

He had experienced it twice in his life and as a result, never wanted to experience it again. Having ones soul become so bolstered that it couldn't be restrained by the body and in the most extreme cases going as far as being rejected by the body due to the strain it was putting on the nervous and cardiac systems was a harrowing thought.

The white cloaked blond was rather fond of having his soul nice and safely rested within his physical body, even if he bordered Aura levels that others would find lethal on a day to day basis. He also didn't want to explode his new friends and teammates, that would also be pretty bad.

That was the main reason he was so hesitant on using his Semblance on others outside of himself, especially with how strongly his Aura interacted with those he used his natural abilities on. The potential for him to kill using his Semblance by Aura Overdose was very real, and caused him no small amount of fear should his control slip even a bit.

Linking his Aura with another being and then Amplifying their natural Aura from there, while something he could do naturally as his Semblance, took years of meticulous practice and diligent training to do while fighting, let alone running from a horde of Grimm. It was far, far easier, and safer, for him to use his Semblance to Amplify his own Aura, or the Aura he coated his weapons and cloak with.

Peaking over his shoulder once more, he could see that the small pick-me-up his Aura naturally provided was enough to kick the groups slowing gait back to where it needed to be. The group of Grimm were falling behind further and further as the Team and a half neared the cliffs they were launched from once more.

The next few minutes passed in a blur for Jaune, most of his focus being diverted to managing his own Aura levels and those around him while keeping enough cognitive focus to prevent himself from eating bark, or dirt. He used Blake as his guide, of course, following her trail of movement far easier than he could Yang or even Ruby's, as the two would often supplement their jumps with their weapons over obstacles he was better off climbing and leaping beyond.

During their sprint, however, Ruby spotted something, or rather, two someones slowly walking along towards the cliffs and quickly shouted a warning. "Hey, Pyrrha, mean girl whose name I don't remember, RUN!"

Pyrrha Nikos, having fallen behind her partner Weiss Schnee, turned quickly to see who was calling her name, only for her emerald gaze to widen tremendously upon seeing who was speaking, and what was following the speaker.

"Brothers, Run, Weiss!" Pyrrha grabbed the smaller girls arm and began to drag her along as the redhead broke into a sprint.

The hoplite had no problem in merging herself and Weiss into the group while maintaining her pace at the same speed as the rest despite not being Amplified by Jaune's Semblance, a testament to both budding women and their physical condition.

"What on Remnant is going on here!? Where did all of these Grimm come from!?" Weiss shouted in fear upon glancing back and seeing the many black fleshed beings doing their best to overcome and devour the group previously numbered six.

"I did it!" Nora proudly declared before glancing back, only for her eyes to widen slightly at seeing just how large the variety of Grimm within the horde had become, "Okay, no I didn't, I don't know what's happening! This is not okay!"

The way her hands tightened around the shaft of Magnhild was testament to how quickly her jovial attitude was strained by the mass of soulless beings currently trying to eat her.

"Just keep calm!" Jaune tried his best to placate the fears of the two newest member of the improvised sprint meet, "We can panic when we're done running!"

"Does anyone have a plan?" Yang questioned hopefully, knowing that if they were going to act, they needed to do it soon.

Running obviously wasn't going to work forever, as the Grimm hadn't eventually tired out from the already long trek from the northern sectors of the Emerald Forest. Fighting them head on, however, seemed foolish given the rather tight spaces they would sometimes find themselves in when traveling between trees and over underbrush.

The group of eight would be easily surrounded by the Grimm and while Jaune was confident he had enough Aura to last such a conflict, the others did not. He highly doubted his ability to maintain his Semblance for such a large group for longer than a few minutes at best, especially if he had to divert his attention to fighting instead of running, as conflict required far more input than putting one foot in front of the other quickly did.

The treeline began to thin soon and the natural brush and undergrowth diminished greatly as well, the environment going from dark and dank to dry and bright quickly. Soon, trees turned into a gravel pathway surrounded by stone archways, each as worn and old as the ruins from which they gathered their relics. Past the arid environment

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jaune shouted in dismay upon seeing the strange ruins that were act as bridges for the students to cross to reach the other side of the deep gorge below.

It was an incredibly narrow passage, barely allowing for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder without being precariously close to the steep ledge on the worn out stones. Beyond the first bridge was a set of circular ruins in which another bridge was connected, leading to yet another set of circular ruins. It was from this second set of ruins that the students would find their exit to where a set of steep stairs would take them back to the cliffs face.

The problem Jaune immediately saw was that the bridge would allow the horde of Grimm of varying species to follow them to where they knew the professors would be waiting.

"Keep going, I've got an idea!" Jaune pushed a bit more of his Aura into Amplifying those currently enthralled by his Semblance, giving them another slight boost to their reserves and overall speed through reinforcement.

Reaching within his cloak, Jaune withdrew a vial of Ice Dust mixed with blank Dust shards that had been used up in the past, a finely ground concoction he had created a few years prior while experimenting with his Semblance.

Pushing his Aura into the vial and Amplifying the small spark he supplied into a roaring inferno, the blank Dust shards within began to glow as brightly as the six wreathed by his soul.

"Hey, Nora, check this out!" Jaune called out as he skid to a halt, span on his heel and lobbed the brightly glowing vial at the horde of Grimm as if it were a ball, only to return to running seconds later to close the gap created between himself and the other seven.

The vial flew true and impacted the first of the beasts just as Jaune made it onto the bridge with the others, the glass shattering easily against the bone plating of the Ursa-Major that headed the original crowd of Ursa and causing the Dust within to become active.

Ice spires taller and thicker than Jaune began to erupt from the point of impact instantly, encasing the first few Grimm within the vicinity rapidly while causing the still running Grimm behind the spires to gore themselves upon the growing branches of ice.

More and more Grimm became wrapped up within the rapidly growing spires of ice, some being crushed to death while others were either encased or impaled. Beyond impaling, crushing and encasing the Grimm, however, it also prevented the still sprawling horde of ebony colored beasts from reaching the bridge the students were now able to safely cross.

"It's not exactly an _explosion_ , but it's still pretty cool to look at I guess." Nora gave Jaune a wavey motion with her hand that indicated his demonstration was merely so-so, "Eight outta ten."

"No way, that was SO a ten!" Ruby declared excitedly, skipping slightly to slow her speed as she turned back to stare at the morbid looking ice sculpture that was _still_ growing in size.

"Thank you, Ruby. That's about as good as I'm going to get from you, isn't it, Nora?" Jaune questioned with a tilted brow as the group slowly allowed their speed to crawl from a sprint into a power walk.

"Yeppers, unless you whip me up some killer pancakes, then I'll give ya a ten." Nora laughed as she threw one arm around Ren's shoulder, "See, I told you it would be alright, Renny!"

"We just outran the largest pack of Ursa I've ever seen in my life, and you say it's alright?" Ren questioned with a tilted brow, his partners line of thought just as foreign to him in that moment as it had always been.

"Pfft, it was easy once Jauney-boy juiced us up on... wait, why'd you quit?" Nora felt the tingling sensation bubbling in her stomach slowly ebb away, as did the hyper feeling that having her Aura being bolstered brought along.

"We aren't running any more?" Jaune wasn't sure if it was more of a question or a statement, but he said it anyway, knowing that he would have to answer anyway despite the reason being obvious.

"But... I felt so... so warm." Nora trailed off, not noticing Blake, Ruby and Yang nodding in agreement while Ren seemed to keep his opinion to himself, "Like a blanket, but if you had left it by the fire before snuggling into it after a cold night!"

Pyrrha and Weiss seemed confused, however, the redhead tilting her head in confusion while the small silver haired teenager rose her right brow almost haughtily in an unspoken question.

"That is pretty close to how my sister described it, actually." Jaune trailed off as the group began to ascend the massive set of stairs before them, "My legs are jelly, and these stairs look like a nightmare and a half right now... I'll Amp up the person who carries me-"

He was cut off as Blake quickly hopped back a step before scooping him up in her arms and leveling him with an expectant look.

"I was just joking, Blake, but if you insist..."

 **[RD]**

"Cardin Winchester. Russel Thrush. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black Bishop pieces," Ozpin pointed confidently towards the four young men named, a small smile on his face as he spoke, "From this day forward, you four will work together as Team CRDL, lead by... Cardin Winchester."

A small round of applause rang out as the four stood proudly, basking in the praise before they were ushered from the stage by Glynda. The applause was hushed when Ozpin began again, this time highlighting the second group of students to be named a team.

"Jaune Arc. Yang Xiao Long. Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Together, you four have retrieved the golden Knight pieces," Ozpin trailed off for a moment, taking a second to look all four addressed students in the eyes before he continued speaking, "and together, you are to become Team ALBR, Lead by Jaune Arc. Congratulations, young man, I'm sure you'll make your father proud."

The only one who seemed bothered by the choice was Jaune himself, though it was when all three of his fellow teammates patted him on the back or offered their congratulations that he relaxed, allowing Ozpin to name the final team to be established for the current year of Beacon.

"Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. Weiss Schnee. Nora Valkyrie. You four retrieved the golden Rook pieces." Ozpin stopped speaking for a moment to take a sip from his mug before continuing, "Together, you will be known as Team SLVN, led by Weiss Schnee. You are all dismissed, and congratulations once again."

Ozpin, once more, made himself scarce rather quickly, but not before sparing one last rather long look in Jaune's direction, their eyes meeting for a few seconds before the grey haired man turned away.

"What was that about...?" Jaune murmured to himself beneath his breath before his attention was quickly brought back to the others when Blake bumped his shoulder playfully.

"Remnant to Jaune, I asked you a question. Do you know where our dorm is at? Our papers don't seem to have the directions." Blake held up the three sheets of paper with her information and her documentation showing she was accepted completely into Beacon.

"616, I think it was?" Jaune once more questioned more than stated as he fumbled with the paperwork in his hand before unfolding it, the edges slightly crumpled from the rather tight grip he held, "Yeah, 616."

"617, so we'll at least be neighbors." Pyrrha seemed excited by the news, as did Nora and to some extent Ren as well, though it was only the gleam in his eyes that gave him away. "We have a communal kitchen and lounge between our rooms. It's good to know we won't be sharing space with complete strangers after all."

"Hear that, Renny? That means we can hangout with Jaune and his team whenever we want!" Nora cried out cheerfully, rushing forward to hang off of her childhood friend.

"That's great, Nora." Ren sighed heavily as he said this, but it was obvious from his smile that he meant the words.

Ruby and Yang soon began to chatter about getting their stuff put away so they can get some sleep while Nora and Ren settled into their own conversations about everything and nothing at once, respectively. Weiss, who seemed extremely pleased since being named team captain, snapped back to reality and quickly glanced back at Pyrrha, who had been reading the paperwork over her shoulder, before attempting to strike up her own conversation with the redhead.

This left Jaune and Blake to walk shoulder to shoulder once more, though this time a bit more tense than before after she had boldly scooped him up and carried him bridal style up the hefty flight of steps. Jaune wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the black haired female had actually _groped_ him, though it could have actually been from her hands slipping like she claimed.

On second thought, it was likely her hands slipping, as someone groping _him_ of all people hardly made any sense to him.

Glancing at the two sisters that made up the other half of the team he was now expected to lead, the blond felt that his time at Beacon wasn't going to be nearly as bad as he had thought it was going to be.


	7. The Ghost of You

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 7, The Ghost of You_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

The growth rate of this story is out of this world. Thanks, peeps!

 **[RD]**

Ozpin pursed his lips as he was left alone in his office once more, Glynda finally returning to her own to finish the paperwork that needed to be finalized before the year officially started. Namely, his yearly stipend of hot cocoa needed to be checked off on the budget, something she _always_ seemed to forget until the very last moment.

His need for hot cocoa as his only form of sustenance, however, was not the subject of his thoughts. Instead, the events he witnessed through the large Scroll he had synced with the video cameras within the Emerald Forest continued to play themselves out in his minds eye. This year had a particularly promising batch of students, unlike the prior year who only churned out a single noteworthy team, though how the two different batch of students reacted to Initiation was hardly the same.

One set of students seemed to turn the Emerald Forest into a war zone while the other had somehow angered _every_ Grimm within a ten mile radius, drawing almost all of the beasts to their positions and leaving the rest of the students within the forest free to proceed without issue.

It was the actions of one student in particular that caught his attention, however, despite his large interest in the growth of Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos. Jaune Arc had done something Ozpin had long considered impossible, and in doing so gave the life-weary man a new spark of hope.

Hope was a dangerous thing for someone like Ozpin. It was addictive, and should he not snuff it out before it sweltered and grew, he would pursue it to the edges of Remnant. For all of his optimism and sugar coated words hinting at a brighter future for those fighting the good fight, thousands of years of existing, _living_ , had turned him into the most jaded, bitter cynic to exist.

If he hadn't been one of the only things standing in the way of the complete annihilation of the two self aware species of Remnant, he would have honestly just created a tropical island he would migrate to every new life he was forced to live.

His time as the Wizard was long gone now, his iterations growing weaker and weaker as he was forced to reincarnate from vessel to vessel by the curse the Gods had placed upon him. Mana no longer seemed to come naturally to him, almost to the point that his reserves had begun to stagnate and no longer replenish themselves as each new generation of Maidens, however, grew stronger and stronger.

His previous dependence on the stronger source of power had waned as each successive reincarnation grew more and more resilient to having his soul implanted parallel with their own, instead learning to wield Aura in ways that no other being could claim to comprehend, let alone repeat.

That was until Jaune Arc stumbled into Beacon along with the daughters of Raven Branwen, Summer Rose and Kali Belladonna.

Standing from his desk with a sigh, the gray haired man slowly made his way to the elevator and pressed the up button twice. The wait for the elevator wasn't long, nor was the ride downwards into the secret portion of Beacon that only select few knew about, but Ozpin hardly noticed either periods of waiting from how wrapped up in his thoughts he had become.

The metal doors slid open and dinged pleasantly to announce his arrival at his chosen destination, prompting him to stride forward sluggishly. The clack of his shoes against the hard floor was the only noise generated within the vast space carved out beneath Beacon, ringing out almost ominously through the cavernous room.

He eventually came to a rest before a massive machine with two pods connected by hoses and wires resting near the back of the massive room, one of which was occupied by a young woman with a terribly scarred face.

Staring down at the comatose form of Amber with an almost blank expression etched upon his face, Ozpin continued to ruminate on what he had seen within the Emerald Forest a few hours prior.

Throughout the exam, the Aura gauge of the young blond born of the Arc Family fluctuated heavily, so heavily that both professors thought it was merely a malfunction in his Scroll. They were, of course, very wrong in their assumptions and realized as much upon watching the next heir of the Arc Family _refill_ his own Aura supply and the supply of those around him upon almost being caught by the horde of Grimm they were fleeing from.

Like a beacon, Jaune had lit up with Aura so bright he could have been likened to the morning sun, so encompassing that it extended nearly five inches from his skin when actively called upon. Ozpin could only wonder at just how deep his reserves ran, and just what it was that he and Glynda had witnessed him do.

It made almost no sense to the man, watching the teenager just entering adulthood throw around enough Aura to drain veteran Huntsmen and Huntresses dry like it was party favors while fleeing from a group of Grimm he very well could have faced and survived.

The amount of Grimm there that posed a threat were few and with what he displayed against the Nevermore just after launch, size hardly mattered to the blond.

It wasn't only his ability to seemingly generate Aura at will, however, that caught Ozpin's attention, but his ability to do so for others as well. If he could seemingly latch onto others and _bolster_ what is already there, then maybe the solution to Amber's and his problems were closer than they appeared.

The question was then, what price was he willing to pay to have the blond firmly aligned in his court?

 **[RD]**

Jaune sat down on the edge of his chosen bed heavily, finally finished unpacking what little of his belongings he brought along with him to Beacon. Yang and Ruby were still unpacking their clothing while Blake continued to busy herself with organizing her bookshelf and closet full of bows and ribbons. The blond didn't speak as he watched the three put their personal items away, instead taking the time to gather his thoughts and prepare himself for the questions that he knew would inevitably come.

He didn't have to wait long, of course, as Ruby slid the top drawer of her dresser shut before spinning on her heels and pointing at him dramatically. "You didn't let me play with your sword this morning!"

Jaune blinked twice before nodding his head in agreement. "You're right, I totally forgot. Don't worry, I'll let you play with it next time I bring it out."

"You better, mister! It was WAY bigger than it looked, too! How did you do that?!" Ruby was vibrating in place by the time she asked the question she had been dying to pose since she saw him bisect a Nevermore.

"Oh my Gods Ruby..." Yang groaned while palming her face in embarrassment, though neither of the cloaked teenagers seemed to pay the blond any mind.

Blake seemed to tear her gaze away from her books in that moment with a bit of pink dancing upon her cheeks, her mouth slightly agape just how lewd Ruby's statement and question sounded.

"I may not look like much, but I know how to use my sword like I was born with it in my hand." Jaune laughed lightly as he pulled the white cloak from his shoulders and folded it neatly, "Plus, my Semblance lets me do some really awesome stuff, like turning a straight blade into a claymore on command."

"So what _is_ your Semblance, anyway?" Blake questioned as she turned completely from the bookshelf, no longer pretending to not be listening in on their conversation, "Because I've never felt anything like that before, and I'd like to understand what happened to me."

"It's... difficult to explain." Jaune gestured for Blake to step closer, causing the black haired teenager to saunter forward until she came to a halt directly before him. "Let me see your hand, please."

Blake blinked once to indicate her confusion before she presented her left hand for Jaune to cradle with either of his, her palm facing upwards as he did so.

"Now, focus your Aura into your palm." Jaune directed her as he called upon his own reserves, a ghost white once more shining from his already pale skin as a result.

As Blake funneled her Aura directly into the center of her palm, she felt the trickling warmth that Jaune's Aura somehow brought along enter her hands through the back. The ethereal energy blended with her own sluggishly at first until it seemed to remember the bond the two energies shared previously.

The trickling warmth encased her hand completely within moments, causing Blake to close her eyes in content as she tried to memorize the feeling as best she could. Distracted as she was, however, she didn't miss the loud gasps of Ruby and Yang alike, forcing her to open her eyes and glance at whatever it was that caused such a reaction.

She was left breathless for her troubles.

"My Semblance, while I call it Amplification, is... difficult to classify as only that," Jaune began slowly as the purple gout of energy dancing in the palm of Blake's hand continued to grow larger, appearing more like amethyst fire than the ethereal energy born from the soul, "I am using my soul as fuel to your fire, if that makes sense."

After speaking, the blond allowed his Semblance and Aura to fade, the large gout of writhing energy dying down into the palm of Blake's hand as he did. Blake fought the urge to whine beneath her breath as the warmth faded from her hand, the wonderful feeling of being _whole_ disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

"Well, I don't know about you ladies, but I'm exhausted... I'll be up long before you three, most likely, so I'll leave it to you to fight out the shower schedule." Jaune stifled a yawn as he fought the urge to sleep to no avail, "Good night, and sleep well."

"Oh, you're going to sleep already?" Yang seemed almost disappointed, her brows furrowed slightly as she watched the blond pull the heavy duvet provided by Beacon to all new students over his head.

"Sorry Yang, I just can't keep my eyes open right now to save my life." Jaune admitted, his voice muffled from the thick blanket over his head.

Yang and Ruby both shared a quick look of concern before they went back to silently putting their belongings away. Blake sat down on the edge of her bed and stared downward at the hand Jaune had infused with his Aura for a few moments before she grabbed up her night clothing to prepare for sleep herself, her mind a million miles away as she did so.

 **[RD]**

Ruby sighed in discontent as her body refused to relax enough to allow her to sleep, her silver eyes gleaming in the pale moonlight as she stared up at the ceiling. Counting backwards from one hundred, the young Huntress-in-training tried to calm the pleasant tingling in her stomach once more, having failed to do so the previous five times she had counted backwards to zero, but she was willing to give it one final shot before calling it quits.

This wasn't the first time in her life that her super-active mind refused to calm down enough to allow her to sleep, but it irritated her none the less. No matter how hard she tried to remain focused on counting backwards yet again, however, she felt her mind refusing to continue the monotonous task, instead drifting towards the subject keeping her up once more with gusto.

It was no surprise that she found herself enamored by the thought of Jaune Arc, at least not to her. The moment she locked eyes with his that he would be someone she would never, ever forget, not when he offered her a helping hand and a kind smile when all others had cut her odd looks and passed her by.

He was one of the first people to ever willingly extend their hand to her in friendship, and _the_ first to not even be slightly bothered by her obsessive love for weapons. Ruby knew it was a stretch, but she could swear that she felt like she had known him far longer than just a full day.

To know that he not only knew her mother, but claimed her as one of the most important people in his life was something she latched onto instantly. If he not only knew Summer Rose, but idolized her as well, Ruby knew he wasn't just good people, he was _great_ people.

Her mother had kept journals throughout her life, and the most recent journal she wrote before her death even briefly mentioned him. It was only years later and with additional information from an outside source that Ruby was able to infer whom Summer was talking about when she said she had a new favorite blond outside of Tai and Yang.

Glancing to the right and towards the bed Jaune had claimed as his own, Ruby sighed once more, though this time happily.

Ruby found that she agreed with her mother on yet another subject. Jaune was _awesome_.

She had chattered quite a bit about varying types of ammunition and what types of Dust worked best in the newest BMG round, yet he continued to not only listen, but supply his own questions and answers in return to hers.

While he seemed to have absolutely no interest in ranged weaponry, especially not firearms, he was _keenly_ interested in how Crescent Rose functioned as a melee weapon, even asking for a demonstration while they had walked towards the Ruins.

Ruby had complied, of course, with a prideful flair in her flourishing and sweeping motions as she raked Crescent Rose through imaginary Grimm for a moment for him. He had clapped in appreciation, something she knew was genuine from the excited look on his face as he did so.

Ruby hadn't ever had someone clap in excitement for her outside of her sister and father, and it felt amazing. After they had retrieved their Relics and started to flee from 'The Horde', as she called the large group of intermingled Grimm that had chased them, Jaune had been the first to throw himself in front of the massive group without a seconds hesitation, all to protect her.

He used his own body as a shield, taking three different blows that Ruby _knew_ were directed towards her, all without grimacing or giving way. It was almost breathtaking, watching the sweet, if not awkward teenager turn from a wallflower into a vicious beast as bloodthirsty as the Grimm themselves. Each swing of his blade had been savagely executed and she swore she saw anger bleeding into his eyes all the while, at least until he turned to face her before they took off into the forest once more.

He was _relieved_ to find her unharmed, if not pleased.

It was almost addictive, the strange, confusing feelings that the blond brought out in her.

She hadn't felt the bubbling feeling in her stomach for quite some time, the sensation having died down some time after she had a restraining order filed against her by someone she had thought she loved dearly.

Glancing back at the blond resting peacefully just a few feet away, Ruby knew that she hadn't even known what love was all along. Now, however, she felt she might, _might_ , have a clue.

 **[RD]**

Jaune awoke far before he was ready to, his breathing quickened and his body slick with cold sweat. Shaky azure eyes stared at the ceiling for what felt like a century before slowly easing shut, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as they did so.

' _It was just a dream,_ _it was just a dream...'_

He continued to repeat his internal mantra as he drew in another deep breath before slowly releasing it, trying his best to ease the tension he felt from reacting so harshly to nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

Every time he drew a breath, however, he caught a glimpse of a wickedly smiling face hiding in his minds eye once more, so familiar yet so different from how he remembered it. The dream repeated itself exactly how he remembered it always playing out, but it had seemed to much more vivid than he recalled.

A flash of silver caught his attention, causing him to snap his head to the left in the direction he thought he saw it, only to find the sleeping form of Ruby as all there was to find. Her light snores rang out softly, no where near as loud as her sisters was.

' _It's just Ruby, relax! Summer isn't here, and even if she was, she would have never...'_

Jaune shook his head to clear his thoughts, the troubled expression on his face slowly fading into one more neutral than anything.

None of his teammates seemed to be awake yet, which was to be expected considering they still had three hours left to continue sleeping. Jaune had long since grown used to being the first person in his home to wake, so it was no surprise that it would carry over to his new home at Beacon.

Honestly he wanted to be lazy for once and lay back down, but that would only be a waste of time considering he wouldn't need sleep again until he wore himself out again. Having ridiculous aura reserves was sometimes just as much a curse as it was a blessing, especially considering how energized it kept him.

Grabbing the outfit he laid out for his morning routine, Jaune entered the bathroom that was to be shared between the four members of Team ALBR and went through the morning rituals he had practiced since he was a child, namely shaving and brushing his teeth before stripping from his sleep shirt, loose jeans and the tight black one-piece body suit he wore beneath both.

The body suits were a gift from his grandfather and acted as both body armor and underclothes, keeping his vital organs, including the most important set, protected and securely held in place.

There were no sleeves to the body suit and the bottom portion of his suit stopped above his knees, but it did exactly what it needed to do regardless of what exposed skin was left.

The warm water of the shower washed away some of the soreness he still felt in his shoulders and legs, but his aura was slowly working out the kinks as time passed.

Stepping from the shower only minutes after he entered, Jaune stared at his reflection cast by the large mirror spanning the entire left wall of the bathroom. Tracing his finger across the stripes that raced up and down his throat, chest, arms, ribs and thighs, the blond did his best to not fall into thoughts of the past once more and instead focused on preparing himself for the day instead.

He slipped on the elastic underclothing and body armor combo first and a pair of his school slacks afterwards, finding the new articles of clothing surprisingly comfortable. Jaune slipped a thick, black leather belt around his hips afterwards before attaching a few of his utility pouches to hang on either side.

Giving himself a final once over, he ruffled his slightly wet hair slightly and pouted when it refused to cooperate with him. After a few more minutes of struggle, he gave up and admitted defeat, allowing the mop of blond to do whatever it wanted.

"This will have to do, I suppose." Jaune murmured to himself before unlocking the bathroom door, almost colliding directly with his partner.

"Good morning." Blake greeted, her voice as flat as ever, "Did you sleep well?"

Scratching his cheek with his index finger lightly, Jaune eventually nodded in the affirmative before returning the question. "I've slept worse, I guess. How about you?"

Blake shrugged her shoulders before stepping a bit closer, standing on her tiptoes as she did so. "You smell really good."

She didn't want to tell him that she had issues with sleeping as well, having had them for years due to her overactive mind. Distracting him with a compliment prevented him from noticing the small bags beneath her eyes as he started to look anywhere but at Blake in that moment.

It could also be because of the rather generous view of her bust that her sleeping yukata was providing, but she wasn't going to complain if he enjoyed the small show.

"Er... thanks?" Jaune questioned unsurely as his eyes eventually settled upon her own, "I try and practice good hygiene."

When he shifted from one foot to another before gesturing past her shoulder, Blake realized she was keeping him holed up in the bathroom by taking up the doorway. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine." He answered not unkindly, making his way passed her and towards the closet that contained his uniforms, pulling free a vest, shirt and jacket as he moved before pointing to the door. "I'll be in the common room, I don't want to wake Yang or Ruby too soon."

"I will be there shortly, then." Blake gave him one final glance before shutting the bathroom door behind her.

Jaune left the room moments later, not noticing the pair of silver eyes watching him curiously.

'What is he going to do with needle and thread?'

 **[RD]**

"Do... I smell fish?" Yang questioned as her eyes cracked open, the smell of cooking drifting into the room shared by Team ALBR slowly but surely, "Who's cooking?"

Glancing around the room, Yang noticed that both Jaune's and Blake's beds were empty while Ruby was still sleeping before throwing her rumpled blanket from her legs. Still dressed in an orange tank and her biker shorts, she slipped on a pair of flip-flops, grabbed her Scroll and went to investigate, curious as to why two of her teammates were up at such an ungodly hour.

The common room was placed between the rooms of Teams ALBR and SLVN, leaving the eight students to share the large room between themselves. Yang knew it was equipped with a kitchenette for the students to use, but she honestly figured most of the students present either didn't know how to cook or were too lazy to do so.

She would know, she was one of the students who was too lazy to do so.

"Jaune, Blake, what are you two doing up so early?" Yang questioned with a yawn, stretching as she entered the common room, "Don't we have three hours before class starts?"

"I didn't sleep all that well last night." Jaune answered lightly, not looking up from the skillet he was currently cooking a batch of eggs in, "Hungry?"

"Always." Yang answered with a grin before taking a seat at the dinning table across from Blake, "You gonna' whip me up some breakfast, Tiger?"

"Only if you ask nicely." Jaune knew she was picking with him, but he couldn't help the small flinch at the nickname she had chosen for him, "Where did you come up with that nickname, anyway?"

"The flower you use as your symbol is a Tiger Lily, isn't it?" Yang tilted her head as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her blond hair spilling onto the table before her before she bunched it up and threw it back over her shoulder, "I can call you something else, if you want."

"... It's fine." Jaune eventually answered, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, "What would you like to eat?"

"Bacon and eggs, if we have it." Yang turned her attention to Blake, who seemed extremely content with her own breakfast, "Fish for breakfast?"

"It was meant to be mine, but the look she gave me was... impossible to say no to." Jaune admitted with a small laugh, "I prefer lighter meals than the school provides."

"Pfft, you're scrawny anyway, you need to eat a bit heavier meals if you ask me." Yang snorted, twirling a strand of her hair around her index finger as she watched Blake pick the meat from the bones of the two small fish on her plate. "Seriously, what do you weigh, a Lien fifty?"

"Isn't it rude to ask someones weight?" Jaune teased while pointing at her with his spatula over his shoulder, "But you are close, five pounds off."

"You aren't a lady, and that can't be healthy for someone your height." The blond was frowning now upon hearing his answer, "Even I weigh more than that."

Jaune didn't answer her, instead reaching over to butter the second pan that was heating on the front right burner of the small stove he stood over. Slapping a few strips of bacon into the pan, he couldn't help but relish the smell of frying pork strips, his mouth watering slightly.

He already had most of the ingredients ready for breakfast, though he wasn't expecting to cook for two more people besides himself. Of course, it would have been horribly rude for him to not offer to cook for his new comrade in arms, so he decided his meal could wait until he was finished with everyone else.

"Seriously though, why are you so skinny?" Yang questioned as he removed the eggs from the large skillet in front of him before he transferred the bacon to the now unoccupied burner, "Is it because of your fighting style?"

There was a pause, so short that they almost missed it, but it was there.

"Got it in one, Yang." Jaune finally admitted before he turned from the stove, divvying up the large batch of eggs he made two ways before placing either plate in front of Blake and Yang. "Eat up."

"Thanks, Jaune, I mean it. Cafeteria food is the worst." Yang shuddered for dramatic effect, "This, on the other hand, smells friggin' awesome!"

"I hope so, I've been cooking almost half of my life now." The blond turned back towards the stove, ready to cook his own meal when he heard yet another person enter the room behind him.

"Klein, please... coffee..." Mumbled Weiss, who appeared to be sleepwalking as she approached the table and flopped down in an undignified heap, a stark contrast to her normally impeccable behavior as far as appearances went. She didn't even look to see where she was going, either, instead staring at the ground through barely cracked eyes before she almost tripped due to running into the table.

Jaune tilted his head to the right at her case of mistaken identity but started a small pot of coffee all the same, finding no real reason to deny the zombie her liquid energy.

He was all for being nice until given a reason not to, but he didn't know the girl and she _had_ been a bit rude to Ruby the day prior.

Yang sniggered lightly before covering her mouth quickly. Swallowing, the blond couldn't help laughing deeply at seeing the silver haired teenager acting like such a slob, having even more manners during the morning than the prim and proper heiress.

Blake rolled her eyes at the silent interaction between the Schnee and her partner, doing her best not to let her dislike of the petite teenager become too obvious.

She had watched her partner when he was portioning the eggs for Yang and herself and not once did he even glance down at Yang's ample bosom, despite the moderate amount of cleavage being displayed. From how quickly Jaune had bonded with the two sisters, Blake had been worried that perhaps he fancied one of them.

In all honesty, Jaune looked like he could have been Yang's brother, which would have made any relationship between the two awkward, to say the least. Unless Yang was into that.

Blake sharpened her gaze as she stared at Yang, trying to peer into her mind and figure out her kinks. From the look she was giving Jaune as he worked, Blake could see an attraction forming, and quickly.

The former terrorist didn't like that in the least.

"Your coffee, madam." Jaune sniped as he placed a steaming mug on a saucer in front of the petite heiress before returning to the stove. He started moving the bacon around in the pan before lifting it and emptying the grease from the meat strips into a small bowl off to the side, "And a large side of bacon, order up."

Blake could tell Jaune was used to cooking for others from the way he balanced his time between the many different bits being cooked. From the large portions he was giving the girls, it was obvious that it was meant to be a much larger group than four.

"Goooooood MOR~ning!" Nora sang loudly as she slid into the room with a power slide, either of her arms spread wide as Ren came in behind her, hot on her heels. "Weiss~! You didn't wake me up for breakfast!"

Ren looked like he had been drugged, beaten and dragged from his bed by the exuberant Nora. That was likely what happened, but Jaune couldn't be sure.

"Ugh, who are you again...?" Weiss cracked open her eyes slowly before she turned her head to peer at the orange haired teenager, the gears in her head slowly but surely starting to turn quicker.

After a few seconds, her pale blue eyes snapped open in confusion as she glanced from Nora to the cup of coffee in her hands and then to the blond who made it for her.

"Arc?" Weiss questioned, raising her head from the cup of coffee she had lost herself in before locking her gaze onto the back of the head of the person currently cooking. "Who... but... where's Klein?"

"Who is Klein? Your boyyyfriend~?" Yang teased in between bites of her bacon, "Oh Ice-Queen, I may have misjudged you!"

"Nothing of the sort," Weiss began hotly before taking another sip of her coffee, "He is my butl-..., wait."

It finally occurred to her that a complete stranger made her coffee for her. That wouldn't have bothered her as quite a few baristas had served her coffee in the past, but it was the fact that he got her coffee right that bothered her.

"Excuse me, but how did you know how to prepare my coffee?" Weiss questioned, a small bit of attitude showing in her voice.

She didn't notice the sharp glare being given to her by Jaune's partner.

"I guessed." The blond didn't turn to face her, instead shrugging his shoulders while keeping his attention focused on the food before him.

Weiss seemed to ponder his answer before accepting it as truth. "Thank you."

"No problem." Jaune answered easily before addressing the three that entered the room last. "What will you be having?"

"PANCAKES/COOKIES!" Nora shouted excitedly, only for Ruby to burst into the common room with her own request for food.

Breakfast was not a short, nor a silent affair after that moment, not in the least.


	8. Team Bonding?

**Radiance**

 _Chapter 8, Team Bonding?_

I do not own anything pertaining to the RWBY universe. No stocks, no stakes in RT, nothing. Don't even own any merchandise.

 **[RD]**

Jaune wanted nothing more than to lay his head down on the desk before him as he listened to Professor Port drone on about his grandfather smelling of cabbages, finding absolutely no useful information being provided so far.

Blake was by his left side while Ruby sat to his right, both struggling to pay attention just as much as Jaune was. Yang brought up the end of the row, idly scribbling something in a small book she had withdrawn from her bag the moment the professor started his ranting, the tip of her tongue poking from her sealed lips all the while.

He had already jotted down the diagrams on the board and had even made a detailed list of each weakness he knew of the five most common Grimm before sliding the papers either way for Blake, Yang and Ruby to copy down as well despite it not being required of them. While he may not be paying attention, he would still learn what he could from the man and made sure his team did as well.

Taking notes proved to be mostly useless beyond that, however, considering Professor Port did not stick to any sort of discernible lesson plan, instead forcing him to do his best to decipher whatever grand message the man had hidden away within his long winded speech, if there was any to find.

"This is... not what I was expecting." Jaune murmured under his breath before reaching up to run a hand through his already messy hair while trying to tug at a hood that wasn't present on his head, instead reaching down to tug at his collar, "I need to talk to Headmaster Ozpin about our team skipping this class if this is what we're expected to deal with."

"Do you think he will really let us skip?" Blake questioned lightly, her eyes twinkling in amusement despite her blank facade. Jaune could only shrug, as he didn't truly know if Ozpin would allow such a thing or not.

"I'm sure if I ask really, _really_ nicely, he won't laugh me out of his office instantly." Jaune trailed off weakly, already knowing that the Headmaster _wouldn't_ let him skip what he already considered a useless class.

"Maybe if we bribe him with your cookies?" Ruby questioned more than stated, leaning towards Jaune slightly as she spoke, "I think we could convince the Grimm to stop eating people with those bad boys, so it's got to work on the Headmaster!"

Jaune couldn't help but laugh at just how firmly Ruby seemed to believe her own preposterous statement. He leaned heavily on one of his hands after a few moments while idly drumming his fingers on his desk to a rhythm only Blake seemed to faintly recognize. "You know, Ruby, you might be on to something. I'm going to try to feed a Beowulf one of my cookies now, just to see what happens."

The two fell silent afterwards after Weiss turned in her seat to give them a scalding glare, causing both to stiffen before turning away and pretending they were innocent and didn't know exactly why she had turned around in the first place. Her icy blue gaze lingered for a few more seconds before the Schnee Heiress turned back to face forward once more, leaving Jaune and Ruby alike to relax.

Blake decided soon after the two had fallen silent that paying attention was no longer an option. It wasn't much longer afterwards that their professors story took a turn for the worst, the mustached man somehow getting on the subject of an elderly man scaring him from the hot springs in a small town outside of Mistral by attacking the Professor with a rolled up, wet towel while using a rubber duck to cover himself.

As someone with a vivid imagination, this was not an image she wanted stuck in her head at all. To remove the vile, memetic picture that didn't seem to fade from her minds eye, she began to try and visualize a romantic night shared between herself and her chosen partner instead.

It worked far quicker than she thought it would, or should, and soon she was lost in the what-if's and could-be's her mind created for her perusal.

She didn't realize her hands had begun to wander slightly, perhaps a bit too much as her right palm brushed against the knee of her partner and leader after unconsciously bridging the gap between their bodies, leaving them shoulder to shoulder.

Jaune noticeably stiffened under her wandering touch before turning his head towards her almost mechanically, "Blake...?"

She didn't acknowledge his calling of her name, instead laying her hand on his knee completely and relishing the feeling contact with her partner brought. She had been struggling to keep from making physical contact with him since waking up and nearly running into him after he left the bathroom.

Beyond the curiosity she felt at his reaction to the nickname 'Tiger', not to mention the strange, white turtle neck he wore beneath his blazer instead of the uniform button down and vest, she had a hard time wrapping her mind around what he had said the previous night about his Semblance.

Using his own Soul as fuel for hers? The notion was hard to comprehend at first, at least for her. What type of life did he have to lead for his Semblance to be so sacrificial in nature? What could he have gone through to make him such a person that he would give his Soul for others sakes?

Her hand continued to trace along the clothed flesh beneath her palm, her long, painted nails gently raking across the smooth fabric of his pants. She seemed to remember where she was, at least some what, as she tried to bring her attention back to Professor Port's 'lecture', ignorant of Jaune calling her name or just where her hand was.

Within Seconds, Blake had to tune back out, as he was once more speaking of subjects hardly pertaining to the anatomy of Grimm and the easiest ways to kill them.

It was hard for her to not display signs of her growing... _affection_ for the blond, especially after he has already shown her more benignity than Adam had in years and the thoughts continuously circling her mind. In just two days, Jaune cemented himself as not only a kind person, but one who was genuine through his actions.

Ninjas were willing to lie, cheat, steal and kill, so it wasn't wrong for Blake to assume he might have a more gray than white and black perception of the world, no matter if he dressed like a white knight or not.

She couldn't even be sure he wasn't an assassin, considering his choice of weaponry and gear beyond his armor, sword and shield, but his age and bond with his family seemed to implicate something far more innocent than someone constantly dealing in wet works.

She continued to paw away without conscious input, her fingers and hand clenching and rolling above his knee not unlike a cat, a trait that most feline Faunus shared in some way or another. It was only when Jaune called her name yet again that she became aware of what she was doing.

"Blake?" He tried a third time before he placed one of his gloved hands beneath his desk to gently try and pry her fingers away from his inner thigh. "W-what are you doing?"

He shivered slightly as her hand slackened and released its grip upon his thigh, unsure of what to make of the contact in the least.

She finally snapped back to reality completely and withdrew her hand quickly, once more reacting to his touch as if scalded. Jaune flinched slightly upon seeing her recoil so quickly and shoved into Ruby slightly as his body jerked to the right. Ruby squeaked lightly and continued further to the right, causing her to fall into Yang and shove the blond boxer as well.

Due to the chain reaction caused by Blake and Jaune, all four members of Team ALBR ended up falling out of their desks to the side, causing the Professor to target their leader when he quickly stood and tried to compose himself by straightening his blazer.

"Mister Arc, fantastic! Your timing is as good as your fathers was! Come on down, young man, show us all what a real Huntsman is capable of!" Professor Port seemed mostly nonplussed over the fact that an entire team somehow ended up falling from their desks at once, instead using it as an excuse to perhaps prove a point.

Weiss, whose hand had shot up immediately upon hearing the professor ask for a volunteer grunted in annoyance before once more turning and scowling at the blond from the corner of her eyes, though Jaune offering her a small, apologetic smile placated her well enough.

From the way the man smiled benignly at the awkwardly shuffling blond as he tried to gather himself enough to step down to the front of the class, he obviously wasn't trying to pick on Jaune and instead was actually interested in seeing what he could do.

The blond had honestly feared going to Beacon a bit not only due to his sister Maria and her far reaching reputation, but his father and mother as well. Julius and Juniper had been very well known during their tenure at Beacon, and not all of the vast reputation they had built for themselves had been good.

Sighing, Jaune shuffled past Blake slowly and jerked forward slightly when he felt her hand collide lightly with his back. A quick glance in her direction left their eyes locked for what felt like hours while in reality, only lasted seconds.

"Get 'em, Tiger."

Jaune wasn't sure if he liked that particular nickname sticking.

 **[RD]**

Ruby giggled excitedly as Jaune came to a rest in the center of the small arena sequestered at the bottom of the many rows the students sat in, unable to pay attention to anything else. The murmurs of the student body around her entered one ear and exited the other, her mind wholly occupied by something she considered more important.

The blond hadn't bothered gathering his weapon, instead standing calmly with either hand by his sides as he stared down the large cage before him.

 _'Why didn't he go get his weapon?'_ Ruby questioned herself curiously as she watched Jaune decline the offer to gather his combat gear.

This once more caused murmurs to echo through the crowd of students, but yet again, she remained ignorant of just what was being said.

"Are you ready then, Mister Arc?" The Professor questioned almost as excitedly as Ruby felt, his brows having shot to his hairline as he posed the question.

The petite scythe wielder watched Jaune's lips move, but she couldn't hear what he said due to the distance between them. It must have been an affirmative, however, because the Professor released the cages lock seconds later with fervent hands.

The sound of something reminisce of a cross between a dying pig and a war cry sounded out before a black and white blur dashed from the confines of the cage. Despite the heavy bone plating along its back straps, the small Boarbatusk that was kept within the cage proved surprisingly agile as it closed the gap between Jaune and itself in seconds.

The blond leader of Team ALBR shifted his stance slightly to lean to the left before his right hand shot out, tapping the Boarbatusk on the forehead before he twisted out of the way with a flourish.

Instead of turning to face the Boarbatusk, he instead sighed and then clapped his hands into what appeared to be a praying position.

The Boarbatusk flashed white and then proceeded to explode, raining bone fragments and rapidly disintegrating ichor from the central portion of the arena outwards.

"... You couldn't have at least showed off a bit more before exploding it, Mister Arc?"

Ruby wasn't quite sure when she stopped breathing, but she had to almost force the air back into her lungs when she remembered her need for oxygen.

'He just touched it... and it exploded... it was just a love tap...'

The manic grin that appeared on her face slightly mirrored the wickedly pleased glint in Blake's eyes.

 **[RD]**

Night had fallen once more, leaving Teams ALBR and SLVN to return to their dorm rooms to finish their unpacking and relaxing after a successful first day of school. There were only six courses available for the students to take during the first year, giving the teams two classes a day to attend in a cycle between the six.

Jaune and Blake were the first to completely finish their unpacking, carrying less on their person than either of their teammates by far. Outside of his weaponry, outfits and singular photograph, Jaune owned little in the ways of material possessions.

Blake had finished unpacking her large collection of books and had even cataloged them twice before sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting as patiently as she could for the rest of her team to finish their own unpacking. Ruby seemed to be taking stock of his ammunition, her silver eyes roving across the purple-tipped rounds one by one as she set them into the ammo crate she kept beneath her desk.

The leader of the team had busied himself with oiling and sharpening his many kunai, showing just how serious he was about his weaponry considering the entire surface of his bed was covered in the throwing knives specific to those of a certain profession.

"So, I, uh... think we should try and get to know each other better," Jaune began as he continued to sharpen his many kunai, his hesitance to break the silence apparent as he stumbled over his words, "At least a little each night, ya know?"

"Oh?" Blake questioned idly, looking up from the book she had flipped open moments before rather quickly for someone who remained mostly stoic, "Why don't you start us off, then?"

The black and white clad teenager would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in learning more about her teammates, especially the leader of the strange team that she found himself a part of. There was something off about the blond, something beyond having obvious training in the ways of the shadow warriors of the old dynasties. He was... skittish for a ninja, to say the least, and seemed a bit more apologetic than he should have been.

He always jerked away from contact unless he initiated it and, while strangely affectionate, seemed oddly withdrawn in some moments. There was sometime a distant look that entered his gaze, a strange vacancy that she had been known to adopt as well when troubled by something she didn't understand.

She was a bit curious about Yang and Ruby as well, but they didn't generate the same type of interest that Jaune did.

It was unsettling to be in the same room as the two when alone with Jaune as she was able to see just how quickly the two gravitated towards him each time, if she were being honest. They didn't even appear to be aware of what they were doing, either, which was just icing on the proverbial cake to her. Introductions might be what the doctor ordered to squash her malaise, even if only slightly.

"Er, sure, I can do that. My name's Jaune Arc, I'm seventeen going on eighteen and I have six sisters." Jaune answered easily enough, having already thought about what he would and wouldn't reveal to his team this early on in being brought together, "I've been training for around six years now and never actually went to a combat school before applying here at Beacon. My hobbies include wood carving, learning to play my fathers guitar and... other things."

He cut himself off from whatever he was going to say, going as far as laughing to cover his stumble. After a moment, the awkward blond gestured towards Blake with a slightly hopeful look on his face, not dissimilar to a silent plea for help.

She eventually decided to humor him, going as far as providing him a small, almost sardonic smile before doing so. "My name is Blake Belladonna. I've survived for seventeen years and I am an only child. I have trained for six years and like Jaune, I did not attend a combat school before Beacon."

She paused for a few seconds as she thought about her hobbies, only knowing that one of them was considered mostly acceptable by societies standards. "I enjoy reading in my free time, prefer peace and quiet and that is about it."

Ruby and Yang seemed to quickly absorb the information provided to them by their two more mysterious teammates before Ruby decided she would go next, going as far as jumping from her bed enthusiastically before speaking.

"My name is Ruby Rose, I'm fifteen years old and my only sister is Yang," Ruby went as far as gesturing towards the blond dressed in orange and black with both hands excitedly before continuing, "I went to Signal for two years before I was recruited by Headmaster Ozpin personally, and I really, really like looking at new weapons and making modifications to my baby, Crescent Rose!"

Ruby pursed her lips for a moment before nodding firmly, as if to say that was her story and she was sticking to it.

"We all know about that though, Ruby, what other things do you like?" Yang wasn't quite chastising Ruby when she said this, instead trying to be encouraging when it came to making the redhead talk about things other than fighting Grimm or new Ammo types.

"Yeah, you're right!" Ruby snapped her fingers in dismay, her brows furrowing all of a few moments before she was beaming brightly once more. "I also really like baking and playing video games, specifically fighting games!"

Ruby turned towards Yang as if to ask if that was good enough, causing the blond to nod happily before she gestured towards herself lazily.

"The name's Yang Xiao Long, you might just be screaming it later," Yang paused for a fleeting moment to send Jaune a saucy wink, causing him to sputter and blush at the obvious attempt at flirting before she burst out laughing, "Man, you are just too easy, Jaune. Anywho, I'm seventeen going on eighteen, my only sibling is this little dork here named Ruby-" "Hey!" "-and I like going to new bars, working on my bike, Bumblebee, and puns, not to mention getting a rise out of people."

Yang watched as Jaune recomposed himself almost clinically, her eyes squinted enough from her wide smile to hide the intensity of her gaze.

"Sorry about Yang, Jaune, she really likes to mess with people, I should have warned you!" Ruby seemed to be upset about her lack of forethought when it came to warning the blond, a pout appearing on her face as she turned to her elder sister quickly, "Why on Remnant would he be screaming your name, anyway? Are you two going to spar or something?"

No one spoke for a few moments before Jaune began to chuckle. It was almost inaudible at first, but eventually grew until it was the type that caused ones stomach to ache. Ruby and Yang soon joined in, though Ruby's laughter was more confused than amused. Even Blake found herself grinning at the naive question, though she visibly restrained herself from outright laughing.

"Oh man, sorry about that, I just... that was great." Jaune sighed almost happily as he laid backwards on his bed, his legs bent at the knees and hanging over the ledge.

The room once more fell into silence, though it was far more comfortable than prior. Yang and Ruby went back to finishing the last of their unpacking while Blake again pretended to busy herself with reading the book in her hand.

Jaune idly noted that she was holding the book upside-down, but eventually rationalized it as his partner attempting to challenge herself or something similar.

"Are there any foods I should try and keep stocked for breakfast in the mornings?" He eventually questioned after he picked himself up from his weapon covered bed and started putting away his knives into the large briefcase he kept beneath his desk.

"I would like fish." Blake answered immediately, not needing to think about her answer before she spoke up, "Any kind will do, but I prefer tuna."

Yang pursed her lips in thought before she shrugged her shoulders, not having a particular food she was partial to outside of the few Mistralian dishes she usually conned her dad into getting when they ordered takeout in the past. "I like anything as long as it isn't super greasy. Would you mind if I helped you cook in the mornings sometimes? I really liked how you made those eggs this morning and I want to learn how you made them so fluffy."

Jaune gave her a polite nod in the affirmative, causing Yang to give him another wide smile as a show of thanks. It was actually surprising how much she had learned watching her leader cook earlier in the morning and for the first time in years, she thought about how much she missed Summer and the mornings the two spent cooking for Taiyang while he slept.

"As long as it tasted as good as it did this morning, I'll eat anything you cook!" Ruby gushed, her eyes glistening as she thought about the wonderful batch of cookies the two had baked together at the last minute. It had nearly made their entire team late for their first class, forcing them to run to reach Professor Port's before the bell ring, but none of the four seemed to mind.

She couldn't help but once more swoon silently at the amount of consideration being shown, not used to having someone she was expected to depend on for orders outside of her teachers and dad, let alone someone who cared about what she wanted for breakfast. Having no actual friends to speak of in the past and a terrible reputation she seems to have outrun, the gesture perhaps meant far more to her than it should have.

Ruby was starving for people to share her world with and to her, her team was like a cool drink of water after spending a decade in the desert known as social isolation. Her partner, while not the person she was hoping for, was someone she had known her entire life and obviously someone she could work well with.

Her original intentions _had_ been to get Yang as her partner, so she really won in the partner _and_ team department now that she had gotten to know the other two members better.

The only member of the team she _didn't_ know what to think of was Blake, the black haired beauty that had been in the presence of Jaune since before the day even technically started. There was only two times in the past few hours that the redhead had seen her leader and his partner separate for any length of time and one was only for a few minutes at best when he had gone to the restroom.

Whenever Ruby felt her eyes wandering towards the blond, Blake would quickly snap her sharp, amber eyes to her own before looking away just as quickly, as if either ashamed of what she was doing or just oddly protective of her partner already.

It was more than obvious Blake was very interested in Jaune, though she couldn't exactly tell just how far it extended and how far she was willing to go. From their interactions, the redhead could tell that Jaune and Blake had only known each other for even less time than either sister had, leaving Ruby to assume that perhaps Blake was like her, in a way.

If Blake did, indeed, begin to actively pursue Jaune romantically, Ruby knew that her chances of drawing his attention towards herself was almost zilch to none. She knew her short, lithe body and young age greatly hampered her chances, two factors that Blake was not limited in at all. She would likely be stuck somewhere known as the 'sister' zone, and any affection Jaune would develop would be platonic in nature, at best.

The thought of not having her knight in shining armor after _just_ finding him made her stomach turn uncomfortably, to say the least. The sudden direction her thoughts took made her feel desperately insecure, something she tried to rectify after a moment with a simple question, one she had been meaning to ask all day.

"Are... are we friends, Jaune?" Ruby questioned in a small voice after silence descended over the team, causing the blond to look up from his briefcase with his brows furrowed.

"Of course we are, Ruby. Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, and I'm pretty sure you three just introduced yourselves to me pretty well," Jaune trailed off for a moment, pausing only long enough to reach up and scratch his cheek with his index finger lightly in thought, "Plus, it feels like I knew you before we met, ya know? Like I've known you my entire life, same with Yang..."

Ruby wasn't sure what to say to that, but the tears that welled up in her eyes caused Jaune no small amount of concern. She tried to open her mouth to say she felt the same way, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, what came was a choked sob.

"Wait, why are you crying? Oh no, was it something I said?! I'm sorry, please don't cry!"

She couldn't help but laugh despite the tears in her eyes and the tightness in her throat. "I'm not sad, s-silly! I'm... these are happy tears."


End file.
